|
|
|
|
viewing 1 To 25 of 31 items
Next >>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 730LP
|
Music for Lovers is the new solo outing of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Rohrer (playing a combination of percussion, modular synthesizer and keyboard-based instruments on this recording). The album's title, which has been used for other albums in unrelated musical genres, might be deceiving: those who expect overly sentimental, fluffy pieces full of levity from start to finish, or sarcastic and cynical attempts at rejecting such "easy" listening, will be surprised by the emotional and tonal complexity on display here. In Rohrer's own words, it is dedicated to "those brave lovers, who are ready to not only find, but eventually become truth," and as such is an exploration of an evolving process rather than an idealized state.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 729CD
|
Sun Electric, the Berlin-based electronic music duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer, were among the pioneers of "live" electronica presentation in the early 1990s, when options for realtime reproduction of one's sound were a fraction of what we enjoy today. Perhaps a spiritual successor to earlier forms of "kosmische" music, which saw the exploration of outer and inner space as being equally worthwhile undertakings, Sun Electric's music was expansive, epic, and involving in a way that prioritized the communion between sounds and listeners over the public exposition of the musicians' personalities. Space was, of course, utilized as an instrument unto itself: a fact that is evident in this new release of a notable 1996 set in which Sun Electric performed at the neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna. Over 75 minutes of performance time, the duo took full advantage of the 20-second reverb decay time offered by the space. The real star here remains the way in which the interdependent musical objects move through open space and mutually evolve with it, and the percussive impacts are part of a "sonic democracy," standing on an equal footing with the glistening effects and the lapping waves of sequenced melody. It's the consistent application of these strengths which allows the music of Sun Electric not to be a "nostalgic trip" to a simpler time, but very much a part of the musical dialogue of the present.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 728LP
|
Producer Tom Thiel has worked in the medium of electronic music since the 1980s and has been active in the musical epicenter of Berlin since 1987. With the Sun Electric Duo, he was already at the forefront of live/"real-time." Though not everyone becomes exceptional on the basis of "veteran" status alone, Thiel's latest work shows that he has made good on one of the main promises held out by electronic music and sound synthesis: namely, that it would also provide unexpected, novel, highly individualized syntheses of different attitudes, atmospheres, and affects. This is happily the case with Thiel's new Arjunamusic release, his first full solo outing since his eponymous 2011 album (STRIKE 125CD, 2011): it's a series of colorful, self-contained vignettes that are perceptibly drawn from an eclectic pool of personal experiences and insights. Like similarly successful musical projects, Thiel's Album utilizes all of the above strengths to craft a rewarding listen in its own right, but also to spark curiosity about what other as-of-yet unrealized fusions may be waiting ahead.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMAC 727CD
|
Arjunamusic Records presents the new album The River, from the trio of João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mário Franco, and Samuel Rohrer, following on the aesthetic developed on their previous release Brightbird from 2017: it is characterized by meaningful pauses and clever subtractions, but it is also a strong and mature demonstration of the fruitful partnership that exists between them and more undeniably perceptible musical features. The group's willingness to consider the value of the spaces between the notes (and their understanding that reflection and contemplation upon those spaces is an act of engagement rather than detachment) is one immediately recognizable feature of their sonic terrain. However, it's far from the only one. In the final estimation, the dialogue between the perceptible and the imperceptible works as well as it does here because an aesthetic of mutual exchange is central to these musicians' playing styles. It is rare to hear albums in which the gestalt can be comprehended rather than voluntarily or involuntarily zooming in on a single player or aspect of the presentation; the trio here has created something that can be appreciated in its totality and which challenges listeners to apply its qualities to other areas of lived experience.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMAC 725CD
|
The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players' abilities. The fundamentals that guided the debut album -- spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal "narrative" quality -- are still very much present. Personnel: Klaus Gesing - bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects; Björn Meyer - electric bass, effects; Samuel Rohrer - drums, electronics, mod synths.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMAC 725LP
|
LP version. The trio Amiira of Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, and Samuel Rohrer has returned after a layoff of six years since their debut LP. It would be unwise to expect for them to pick up exactly where they left off, given all the turbulent change that the world has encountered since this time, and indeed the new album Curious Objects reflects a clear expansion of the players' abilities. The fundamentals that guided the debut album -- spatiality, refined coolness, the non-verbal "narrative" quality -- are still very much present. Personnel: Klaus Gesing - bass clarinet, soprano sax, effects; Björn Meyer - electric bass, effects; Samuel Rohrer - drums, electronics, mod synths.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
AMEL 724LP
|
Samuel Rohrer's newest solo album, Codes of Nature, shows the artist making yet more refinements and additions to an already rich catalog of musical ideas. Though he has excelled in collaborative projects with Ambiq, Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Tobias Freund, Dark Star Safari, Nils Petter Molvaer, Oren Ambarchi, and many others, it is fascinating to experience him also working in a field completely his own, yet managing to still give the impression of being fully integrated or connected with a larger musical universe. A strange, intriguing ambiguity between the specific and the universal is indeed what makes Rohrer's music worth playing on a loop -- the cool, downtempo, yet energized constructions on Codes are powered by subtle atmospheric and tonal changes, and work like a camouflage adaptable to any environment. This is a record whose strength derives from its versatility. It's clear that this versatility of sounds has been inspired by a commitment to positive differentiation that is not just a musical one, and that's where this work will inspire others in turn. Personnel: Samuel Rohrer - drums, percussion, electronics, keys, modular synths; Music produced, recorded, and mixed by Samuel Rohrer.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 723LP
|
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within the European electronic music realm. Over the past decade he has assembled a repertoire of music that fills a sadly neglected gap in the modern musical landscape. That is to say, he has made a number of "electronically"-aided works that never seem to make "electronic-ism" the main selling point or raison d'être. His latest solo album, Hungry Ghosts, again shows the high quality of sonic design that can be achieved by conceptualizing musical passages as living, breathing entities rather than as signposts to some still distant reality. Maybe more so than any of Rohrer's solo records to date, Hungry Ghosts is the one that most unambiguously displays the artist as a kind of inspired sound "cultivator" or landscaper rather than just a straightforward "producer". The emphasis here seems to be biological growth processes rendered in musical form, and in fact some track titles namechecking the biodiversity of the external world ("Slow Fox", "Ctenophora") and neurochemistry ("Serotonin") lend some additional credence to this interpretation. As with previous outings, Rohrer starts with his skills as a genre-resistant percussionist and builds from there, with dense clusters of drum hits and icy cymbal exclamations leading the way into a wide-open atmosphere full of fragmented phrases, marked with strange reversals or compressions of time. The percussive portions and other ambiences merge together in such a way that the latter seems like a kind of shifting, holographic camouflage for the former. Rohrer's already established ambiguity and mystery are the moods that permeate throughout, to be sure, but there are also surprising moments of humorous whimsy (the flourishes of cartoon mischief and teasing silences on the tracks "Human Regression" and "Bodylanguage"), reverence (the optimistic organ swells and steady sequencer guiding "Ceremonism"), and meditative focus (the slow-motion spectral waltz of "Treehouse"). Also notable here are very brief etudes, such as "Window Pain," whose dark, lush ebb and flow actually seem tailored to repeated or looped listening. The material is recorded solo and in a "live/no overdubs" mode, giving it the feel of a well-rehearsed ensemble. And here you come full circle to the idea of "electronic music" mentioned at the beginning here: instead of making you feel that you are in the presence of some fully-realized form brought back from "the future," Rohrer invites you instead to witness fascinating processes of transition and mutation.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2x12"
|
|
AMEL 722LP
|
2023 restock. The Ricardo Villalobos/Samuel Rohrer partnership has yielded increasingly interesting results over the past few years, with the former's remixes of the latter's trio Ambiq being supplemented by further reinterpretations of Rohrer's solo work and live meetings at select events like Berlin's Funkhaus and Radialsystem V. As should be the case with any strong collaboration, this partnership has been based on mutual challenge rather than compromise, seeing each participant shuttle key technical and emotive aspects of the other's work to previously unexpected places. Those who have been closely following this relationship will notice a definite sense of continuity between previous outings and the new collaborative release entitled MICROGESTURES. As with those earlier Villalobos/Rohrer pairings, these four new pieces are defined by a special quality of being many things that once: that is to say, depending on the listener's own level of focus, these can feel very tightly constructed and disciplined, or playful and freely wandering. That the tracks are equally engaging regardless of one's chosen listening "mode" is a testament to the level of thought put into them; you could almost imagine the creators pouring over some elaborate sketched set of architectural blueprints rather than coolly monitoring the usual multi-track editing software. Altogether the music here is firmly amelodic and percussive, but within these deliberate limitations there is still a greater variety of individual sounds than most would bother with. Each track is its own observatory of micro gestures, clustering together into a dense communicative fog or a sort of robotic sound swarm. Yet, while all these tracks are variations on that theme, each one has its own character and, consequently, its own rewards. Take for example "Cochlea" and its twin "Helix", on which the magnetizing, busy layers of percussion are tempered with mischievously disruptive blossoms of digital noise, as well as sampled radio communications. Club-oriented elements are also not absent from this suite, particularly on "Incus" with its traditional sequenced baseline, crisp synthetic trap and hats, and dizzily sliding set of bell-like tones laid on top. Yet this track, too, is powered as much by its restless desire to deviate as by its rhythmic consistency: throughout the eleven-minute running time, a mass of ambiguous and restless machine sounds build a parallel narrative, and will maybe prompt the occasional glance over the shoulder as they seem to be taking on their own life. "Lobule" rounds out the program with the most rhythmically eventful sound set off the five.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 721LP
|
"Dark Star Safari is a musical entity comprised of Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, Eivind Aarset, Samuel Rohrer and John Derek Bishop. Their second full-length offering Walk Through Lightly is the first to feature all five musicians together in the studio from the outset, making for a more organic refinement upon their already established methodology: gradually sculpting distinct songs out of collective improvisations, or using the raw material from initial recordings as the basis for more carefully articulated compositions. The final mix is one that invites few stylistic comparisons to other musical peers, and in fact few comparisons to existing genres. Though this second offering from the project is frosted over with a Scandinavian sense of spatiality and melancholy, it's best listened to without considering any origin points, geographic or otherwise: from the opening moments of Walk Through Lightly, listeners will feel as if teleported directly into the middle of an enigmatic film-in-progress . . . The electronic and acoustic instrumentation is pensive, but not passive, with restrained scrapes and stridulations in the background combining with backwards-looped passages and perlescent or granulated sound effects to better emphasize the carefully arranged latticework of guitar, percussion, strings, and bass . . . This nuanced production, which wisely opts for intimacy instead of relying on overdone 'instant atmosphere generators' like lengthy reverb, provides just enough tension to contrast with the sense of elevation provided by Bang's vocal contributions: smoky, evanescent, and impressionistic recitations offering not snapshots of specific events, but rather complete emotional environments for the listener to hover through and explore . . . It focuses as well upon coming to thresholds or crossings, be they physical crossroads or internal states of mind, or both. With such things in mind, it's only natural that there would be consideration of dreaming as well, and indeed four different titles on the LP make different reference to a dream or dream state, seemingly valuing dreams as part of the continuum of consciousness rather than something totally cut off from waking experience. Given the sense of foreboding, anticipation, and even unease that these kinds of subjects often bring with them, the spare and un-hurried music is all the more intriguing, especially when the eponymous finale arrives and the percolating sound bed seems to hint at a coming resolution, but then leaves the listener with more questions than answers. By competently fusing a mature, economical approach to sincerely romantic lyrical themes, Walk Through Lightly is a rare accomplishment." --Thomas Bey William Bailey
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 720LP
|
New quartet by Samuel Rohrer, Max Loderbauer, Stian Westerhus, and Tobias Freund. In the present era of media saturation, the artist's dilemma has shifted away from the question whether to fuse disparate stylistic elements, towards the decision of which energies to draw upon: a situation most rewarding for those who listen to musicians navigating this limitless terrain. One such journey, the captivating full-length release from Samuel Rohrer's new Kave quartet, is bringing together players who are equally well-versed in the quick-thinking mechanics of free group improvisation and the compositional strategies of contemplative/"ambient" electronic music. With Rohrer acting as creative director and most of the quartet sharing synthesizer duties, there's a strong sense of unified purpose to this set, and a narrative flow that never causes the listener to focus on one constituent part at the expense of the whole. At the same time, the players know all well that cohesion counts for little without those constituent parts being compelling in their own right. Rohrer and Loderbauer, for example, have previously crafted a unique techno-organic approach with the Ambiq trio, and the lessons learned from that partnership are put to inspired use within this new configuration. Stian Westerhus's contributions on guitar and vocals, along with Tobias Freund's electronic reinforcements -- Freund also has worked since many years with Max Loderbauer as NSI -- all conspire to make something that Rohrer aptly compares as "forest"-like. It's a descriptor that will have vastly different meanings for each listener. The introductory odyssey "Cambium" the quartet sets out to make good on this metaphor, creating a hypnotic foundation for what is about to unfold during the next 42 minutes, with brooding, slow, "searchlight in a fog," synth washes and percussive stridulation. The twin "Hibernation" tracks show all the unique elements beginning to coalesce: the emotional tenor is one of vulnerability that melts into the determination of "staring into the void," a temperamental state challenging to represent authentically in music. The atmosphere of psychic challenge effortlessly gives way to the faintly nostalgic glimmers of "Giant Peach" -- a reference to Roald Dahl. The ultimate dissolution of barriers between organicism and synthesis is accomplished on the majestic "Divided We Fall," a title referring to Westerhus's smoky vocalization that winds into a double helix formed from electronic surges.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 719LP
|
With his Arjunamusic label and a growing catalog of category-defying releases, Samuel Rohrer continues to quietly, yet confidently, make a name for himself as a genuinely unique figure within the European electronic music realm. Rohrer is one of those rare alchemical explorers to have truly created a hybrid which is all his own, one that does not just exist to melt distinctions for its own sake, but is a natural result of years of experimentation with both the determination of electronic music and the ludic spirit of "free improvisation". On Continual Decentering, this vision is applied to a set of mostly in real time (live) performed explorations. In keeping with his many years' worth of fruitful collaborations, the tonal palette on this record is one that is expectedly rich for those familiar with his work, yet still surprising in terms of how exactly the differing tonal colors come together. Representative tracks like "Spondee" and "The Fringe" are brimming with dub pulses, noir shivers, and blooming timbral variations. In terms of the emotional atmosphere, the pensive and questioning tone hearkens back to the "wide open" state of electronic music in the mid-to-late 1990s, with a greater clarity and maturity of vision. As with Rohrer's most recent solo work, like the Range Of Regularity album (AMEL 712CD/LP, 2017), Continual Decentering showcases the artist's skill in turning the drum kit into a lead instrument. While the term "lead instrument" denotes a kind of exuberant "Glash", or a clear separation from the rest of the voices in an ensemble, we can take the term to mean something different throughout this listening program of 13 short vignettes. It helps that Rohrer has, in fact, developed a unique and complex hybrid system in which drum hits trigger modular synthesizer processes, the use of which makes for an incredibly fluid response time between distinct sonic events. In contrast to the previous Range album, this new offering is propelled less by interlacing threads of intensity and more by a shared sense of deep listening. As displayed on pieces like "All Too Human", there is a profound sense of attention to silences or thoughtful pauses that maybe hints at another crucial aspect of Rohrer's style. All of the above come together to give Continual Decentering a "live"-ness that will easily translate from recorded document to dynamic performance.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 718LP
|
LP version. Dark Star Safari, a newly formed group featuring Samuel Rohrer, Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, and Eivind Aarset presents Dark Star Safari, an evocative song-driven album. These songs conjure shadows of memory, clouds of dreaming and silhouettes of foreboding through the album's layered, many-textured fabrics and Bang's silken delivery of Honoré's lyrics. Dark Star Safari is the work of four kindred spirits, an open modus operandi, and a remarkably interconnected creative nerve system. Key to their collaboration is an organic freedom that enables the music "to fill itself in", to be self-actualizing via the musicians as medium. The music of the ten songs resulted from a two-stage process: an initial phase of free-flowing open improvisation, and a subsequent exploratory phase where hidden potentials were discovered and nurtured. The groundwork of the album originates in a session initiated by Rohrer, who invited Bang and Aarset to the Candy Bomber studio in Berlin. The session was run under the imaginative craftsmanship of sound engineer Ingo Krauss, who worked in the famous Conny Plank studio, its recording and mixing employing sophisticated use of vintage analog equipment alongside cutting-edge digital processes. This meeting opened the door for something larger to emerge; the group did not settle for just the initial open improvisation. They were driven to dig deeper, to examine and manipulate the material, in order to discover what it had to offer. During this second phase Bang, while meditating upon the possibilities and reach of the improvised material, felt a strong urge to give additional shape and color to it by singing. Thus, he organically stepped into the role of vocalist, a role he had not pursued since the early days of his musical career. He sent the results to Honoré, who immediately was inspired by its potential, penning lyrics and providing the project with its name. Honoré composed two additional songs, "Mordechai" and "Fault Line", and thus rounded the project out towards a fully realized opus. The group continued this back and forth process, with Rohrer and Aarset bringing in fine-tuning and enrichment to the song structures and textures. Born out of the spirit of open improvisation and the improvisational practice of the immediate live-remix, Dark Star Safari transcends both of these creative processes in a pursuit of fresh approaches to songwriting. Their music is now ready to meet the hearts, minds and bodies of live audiences, to evolve through that interaction. Art by Ian Anderson, The Designers Republic.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 718CD
|
Dark Star Safari, a newly formed group featuring Samuel Rohrer, Jan Bang, Erik Honoré, and Eivind Aarset presents Dark Star Safari, an evocative song-driven album. These songs conjure shadows of memory, clouds of dreaming and silhouettes of foreboding through the album's layered, many-textured fabrics and Bang's silken delivery of Honoré's lyrics. Dark Star Safari is the work of four kindred spirits, an open modus operandi, and a remarkably interconnected creative nerve system. Key to their collaboration is an organic freedom that enables the music "to fill itself in", to be self-actualizing via the musicians as medium. The music of the ten songs resulted from a two-stage process: an initial phase of free-flowing open improvisation, and a subsequent exploratory phase where hidden potentials were discovered and nurtured. The groundwork of the album originates in a session initiated by Rohrer, who invited Bang and Aarset to the Candy Bomber studio in Berlin. The session was run under the imaginative craftsmanship of sound engineer Ingo Krauss, who worked in the famous Conny Plank studio, its recording and mixing employing sophisticated use of vintage analog equipment alongside cutting-edge digital processes. This meeting opened the door for something larger to emerge; the group did not settle for just the initial open improvisation. They were driven to dig deeper, to examine and manipulate the material, in order to discover what it had to offer. During this second phase Bang, while meditating upon the possibilities and reach of the improvised material, felt a strong urge to give additional shape and color to it by singing. Thus, he organically stepped into the role of vocalist, a role he had not pursued since the early days of his musical career. He sent the results to Honoré, who immediately was inspired by its potential, penning lyrics and providing the project with its name. Honoré composed two additional songs, "Mordechai" and "Fault Line", and thus rounded the project out towards a fully realized opus. The group continued this back and forth process, with Rohrer and Aarset bringing in fine-tuning and enrichment to the song structures and textures. Born out of the spirit of open improvisation and the improvisational practice of the immediate live-remix, Dark Star Safari transcends both of these creative processes in a pursuit of fresh approaches to songwriting. Their music is now ready to meet the hearts, minds and bodies of live audiences, to evolve through that interaction. Art by Ian Anderson, The Designers Republic.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
AMEL 717EP
|
Max Loderbauer lends his unique interpretive skills to the master recordings for the Brightbird album (AMAC 715CD, 2018) by João Paulo Esteves Da Silva, Mário Franco, and Samuel Rohrer. With "Trusting Heart/Cosmos", Loderbauer builds up a tactile tension between rhythmic certainty and sharp-angled, de-tuned, and occasionally scrambled instrumentation. For "Noontide", Loderbauer switches to a more focused and streamlined idiom with an uncanny ease, riding along steady waves of sequencer patterning and silvery, resonant shiverings. Reverberating, holographic piano again provides the tonal center here, and the notes ring with a forward-thinking optimism not far removed from classics of the krautrock era.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMAC 715CD
|
A gentle maelstrom! João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mário Franco, and Samuel Rohrer together combine all the qualities that are currently making this most classical chamber-music format of jazz so successful. Intuitive understanding, transparent flows of communication between the musicians, their actions and reactions, soloistic sequences that continue the balanced flow of sounds, as well as musical culture and noblesse. This trio does not boast but trusts the spaces between the notes. Yet its music develops a pull, gently insisting, that becomes ever more plausible. Nobody in this trio acts in an authoritarian way. Everything breezily interlinks following a collective thought; catchy, sometimes almost song-like and always of iridescent beauty. The trio is not defined by melodic bliss, melancholy, or the pure pursuit of harmony. It searches in the openness of improvisation, dispensing with ready-made intentions for a piece or composition. It transforms what is found into concise sonic images, which maintain rigor and concentration because they do not become unruly under the musicians' fingers. Themes are illuminated without being overworked. Subtle free flights of fancy are interwoven. There is lyrical introspection as well as an intricate groove, and everything occurs far away from routine. This balanced develops its strength from congenial casualness. Improvised bagatelles add together to form an unobtrusive bath of sound because no-one feels the need to exhibit their virtuosity. The playing of pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva is shaped by the worlds of jazz and fado, classical, and folklore. Virtuosity yes, but soulful depth is even more important to him. In such contexts, bassist Mário Franco is also an ideal choice for the line-up. As a musician at home also in the classical repertoire, his warm, smooth sound is now enormously in demand. He his warm, smooth sound is now enormously in demand, which has made him a playing partner of well-known jazz musicians. Playing in comparable trios, the Swiss citizen of the world and urbane nomad Samuel Rohrer is one of the influential improvisational musicians of his generation and has gained the experience required for this intuitive communication with double bass and piano. This album is not an umpteenth variant on the plethora of piano trios, but leaves the pure jazz idiom to stride across further territories: wide awake and lost in dreams.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
AMEL 713EP
|
The second EP of Samuel Rohrer's Range Of Regularity album (AMEL 712CD/LP, 2017) presents two more striking reinterpretations. The production specialists on hand for this project include Burnt Friedman and Ricardo Villalobos. Burnt Friedman's dramatic interpretation of "Microcosmoism" pairs up his consciousness of deep bass and analog inventiveness with Rohrer's continually transforming sound objects, making for a flowing and wordless narrative. This is complemented nicely by Villalobos's remix of "Microcosmoism". It carries the energy level of the first EP (AMEL 716EP) over to a new disk, while heavily experimenting with feelings of emotional ambiguity.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
AMEL 716EP
|
Coming hot on the heels of Samuel Rohrer's Range Of Regularity album (AMEL 712CD/LP, 2017) are two EPs of striking reinterpretations. The first comes with remixes by Ricardo Villalobos and Vilod, the collaborative duo with Max Loderbauer. Villalobos's compelling take on "Lenina" pulsates from start to finish with a kind of voluntary anxiety. He pieces together something surprisingly funky and hyper-real from a catalog of distinct percussive hits, time-reversed ephemera, and playful "kitchen sink" ambience. Vilod's "Uncertain Grace" remix induces a feeling of perpetual movement with is a buzzing beehive of activity and an organ-like refrain.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 712LP
|
LP version. Samuel Rohrer, the multi-faceted, forward-thinking percussionist and producer behind the Arjunamusic Records label, the Ambiq trio, and a wealth of other musical projects, has set out on his own with a new full-length solo album, Range Of Regularity. Constructed almost entirely upon electronically-treated recordings of acoustic instrumentation, with a bare minimum of synthesizer voicing, Range Of Regularity vibrates with a compelling organic-ism, as if old-growth Black Forest trees had conspired together to make an album of ultra-modern improvisational music. Indeed, the record feels limned with contributions from some "other" intelligence, despite being a clear extension of the fluid, percussion-driven musical technique that Rohrer has exhibited in previous years. Opening with the track "Microcosmism", the sound-forest feeling immediately takes effect, and the listener can either enjoying navigating a path through this verdant total environment or just being lost in it. "Lenina" does not abandon this unique aesthetic, but reprises the story with a different vocabulary (in this case, deep synth-bass signals, piano runs and all sorts of hyper-real ventilations). "Nimbus" temporarily dials back the feeling of modular assemblage that powers the previous two pieces, and allows Rohrer's drum kit to come to the fore, working away at a determined snare-driven beat that brings a variety of treated sound ephemera out of their hiding places. After the gentle - but never too precious - interlude of "Sunclue", "War On Consciousness" emerges as the album's infectious tour de force. As the title implies, the feeling here is of using sound to fend off some sort of invasive energy, featuring a full concert's worth of timbral variations and audio events. Incisive rhythmic patterns slice away like finely honed blades at an insistent mechanical chattering, while cautiously walking acoustic bass adds an extra layer of defense. "Uncertain Grace" closes the set out with a busy multi-layered arpeggio punctuated with bass drum hits, from which a melodic narrative gradually emerges. Although similarities are apparent to other progenitors of rhythmic intelligence (classic Can, for example), Range Of Regularity stands perfectly well on its own. Artwork by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 712CD
|
Samuel Rohrer, the multi-faceted, forward-thinking percussionist and producer behind the Arjunamusic Records label, the Ambiq trio, and a wealth of other musical projects, has set out on his own with a new full-length solo album, Range Of Regularity. Constructed almost entirely upon electronically-treated recordings of acoustic instrumentation, with a bare minimum of synthesizer voicing, Range Of Regularity vibrates with a compelling organic-ism, as if old-growth Black Forest trees had conspired together to make an album of ultra-modern improvisational music. Indeed, the record feels limned with contributions from some "other" intelligence, despite being a clear extension of the fluid, percussion-driven musical technique that Rohrer has exhibited in previous years. Opening with the track "Microcosmism", the sound-forest feeling immediately takes effect, and the listener can either enjoying navigating a path through this verdant total environment or just being lost in it. "Lenina" does not abandon this unique aesthetic, but reprises the story with a different vocabulary (in this case, deep synth-bass signals, piano runs and all sorts of hyper-real ventilations). "Nimbus" temporarily dials back the feeling of modular assemblage that powers the previous two pieces, and allows Rohrer's drum kit to come to the fore, working away at a determined snare-driven beat that brings a variety of treated sound ephemera out of their hiding places. After the gentle - but never too precious - interlude of "Sunclue", "War On Consciousness" emerges as the album's infectious tour de force. As the title implies, the feeling here is of using sound to fend off some sort of invasive energy, featuring a full concert's worth of timbral variations and audio events. Incisive rhythmic patterns slice away like finely honed blades at an insistent mechanical chattering, while cautiously walking acoustic bass adds an extra layer of defense. "Uncertain Grace" closes the set out with a busy multi-layered arpeggio punctuated with bass drum hits, from which a melodic narrative gradually emerges. Although similarities are apparent to other progenitors of rhythmic intelligence (classic Can, for example), Range Of Regularity stands perfectly well on its own. Artwork by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 711CD
|
Songs without words, suggestive and emotional transparency and connection, contemplation and departure, meditation and attack: this music fascinates from the very beginning. It has no need to boast or become talkative, but stays true to itself as it casually develops its poignant pulse and lets it grow, and grow. The web of sounds soon begins to radiate from within, it inspires images in one's head, and invites to musing and introspection. Against the background of a wide horizon the details of their music join, develop a life of their own, and lift off to collective flights of ideas. This music is an invitation to listen without prejudice, offering a way to get lost in dreams while, at the same time, remaining solidly grounded and completely awake. There are many connections between bass clarinetist/soprano saxophonist Klaus Gesing, bassist Björn Meyer and drummer Samuel Rohrer. The experience of playing together and sharing their innovative spirit is a pre-requisite for the artistic co-operation of this new trio, in which the love of adventure and improvisation takes precedence over the pre-composed. Because of this the evocative power of their interaction can generate such strength, the give-and-take of their musical discourse being so intimate. In this music a unique sound structure grows from within itself, layer-by-layer, and involves and enchants the listener. It is broadly emotional and without mystique or pretension. How else could these delicate dialogues develop such gravitational pull and magic? Acoustic and electronic sounds, sensuous rhythms, sumptuous woodwind-songs, earthen and ethereal bass lines, grooves and vibrant atmospheres all merge with one another and graciously rise from silence to hypnotic beauty. The inner logic of the trio's interaction is compelling for it neither strives for attention nor takes the listener unawares. It grows and spreads coherently like a natural organism. The three of them have, each in their own right, worked with outstanding vocalists. Samuel Rohrer with Laurie Anderson and Sidsel Endresen, Klaus Gesing with Norma Winstone, Björn Meyer with Asita Hamidi - all of whom are vocalists that can evoke textures with delicate poise, avoiding trends, and express them in an entirely personal way. It also characterizes the unique quality of this trio's instrumental music: richly colored, highly concentrated and finely balanced, it develops a life of its own without ever imposing itself on the listener.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
AMEL 711LP
|
LP version. Includes poster and download code. Songs without words, suggestive and emotional transparency and connection, contemplation and departure, meditation and attack: this music fascinates from the very beginning. It has no need to boast or become talkative, but stays true to itself as it casually develops its poignant pulse and lets it grow, and grow. The web of sounds soon begins to radiate from within, it inspires images in one's head, and invites to musing and introspection. Against the background of a wide horizon the details of their music join, develop a life of their own, and lift off to collective flights of ideas. This music is an invitation to listen without prejudice, offering a way to get lost in dreams while, at the same time, remaining solidly grounded and completely awake. There are many connections between bass clarinetist/soprano saxophonist Klaus Gesing, bassist Björn Meyer and drummer Samuel Rohrer. The experience of playing together and sharing their innovative spirit is a pre-requisite for the artistic co-operation of this new trio, in which the love of adventure and improvisation takes precedence over the pre-composed. Because of this the evocative power of their interaction can generate such strength, the give-and-take of their musical discourse being so intimate. In this music a unique sound structure grows from within itself, layer-by-layer, and involves and enchants the listener. It is broadly emotional and without mystique or pretension. How else could these delicate dialogues develop such gravitational pull and magic? Acoustic and electronic sounds, sensuous rhythms, sumptuous woodwind-songs, earthen and ethereal bass lines, grooves and vibrant atmospheres all merge with one another and graciously rise from silence to hypnotic beauty. The inner logic of the trio's interaction is compelling for it neither strives for attention nor takes the listener unawares. It grows and spreads coherently like a natural organism. The three of them have, each in their own right, worked with outstanding vocalists. Samuel Rohrer with Laurie Anderson and Sidsel Endresen, Klaus Gesing with Norma Winstone, Björn Meyer with Asita Hamidi - all of whom are vocalists that can evoke textures with delicate poise, avoiding trends, and express them in an entirely personal way. It also characterizes the unique quality of this trio's instrumental music: richly colored, highly concentrated and finely balanced, it develops a life of its own without ever imposing itself on the listener.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
AMEL 709EP
|
Samuel Rohrer's arjunamusic label is becoming a distinctive voice in musical experimentation, finding the common ground between the improvisational impulse and the rhythmic architecture of electronic dance music. Tyler Friedman's original mix of "YYY" is led by a bouncing and playful set of melodic figures, featuring an intimate timbral quality like a hybrid kalimba and vibraphone. Friedman and Rohrer's drum and vocal dub bring the voice of Tora Augestad into the picture, capturing the cascading feel of the original with a gritter instrumental vocabulary.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
AMEL 710EP
|
ambiq presents the second 12" of remixes of tracks from their 2015 album ambiq 2 (AMEL 708CD/LP), following Ricardo Villalobos and Tobias Freund's 2015 remixes. Thomas Fehlmann (The Orb) remixes "Meta" with classic rolling techno elements, while maintaining the eerie musical saw quivers and drum kit chatter of the original; it's a mutant dub that permeates every corner of listener's active imagination. Margaret Dygas's noir-tinged remix of "The Mother" incorporates all kinds of clever low-end subtleties and sliced-and- diced sound fragments while still leaving plenty of room for ambiq's woodwinds and percussive commentary.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 708CD
|
ambiq, the Berliner instrumental trio of Max Loderbauer, Claudio Puntin, and Samuel Rohrer, emerged onto the scene in 2014 with their self-titled debut album (AM 703CD/LP) of impressive sonic distinctiveness and technical ability. Drinking from a deep pool of influences that includes free improv, early electronic music, and spaced-out dub, the trio does what any great ensemble should set out to do; it becomes more than the sum of its parts, a single organism with its own unique expressive vocabulary and perspective. Proving that their debut was no fluke, the ambiq trio has already reconvened for a second full-length bubbling over with new timbral combinations, and with a sophisticated interpretation of the ancient art of tension and release. From the opener "The Spur," they bring the listener to a world where strange new tonalities seem to breathe freely; the nimble percussive shuffle, set in relief against a cascade of detuning electronic tones, is a fascinating intro, followed by "Introspective Kitchen," which expands the mood of the preceding track with cleverly delay-effected woodwind, remote organ swells, and yet more shivering percussion. The band then embarks on a more motoring, danceable journey titled "The Mother"; Rohrer's drumming, as always, is taut and confident, while Puntin's clarinet evocatively hovers with a kosmische feel that is all too absent from most realms of "post-rock" and electronics-aided improv. The interplay between Puntin and Rohrer eventually develops into the main dialogue of the album, though the sound events surrounding it change continuously enough to keep this a fully memorable and downright cinematic experience. The miniature piece "Naked George" is as full of humorous melody as the other pieces are of investigative curiosity; another short piece, "Mytoprill," is guided by queasy modular synth strains that impart a delirious kind of funhouse ambience. On "Parton's Double Vision," the lush space-violin-quavers familiar to vintage sci-fi fans play the supporting role, and the closing "Consolation" features a lulling bed of electronics that elusively shift in character the more attention one pays to them. Plenty of music exists for the open-minded, but not all of it has the ability to initiate the process of opening minds in the first place. ambiq does have that ability, and have come up with a musical formula that will melt away the defenses of the most hardened techno fanatic or avant-gardist, seeding new ideas not beholden to any one genre or lifestyle.
|
viewing 1 To 25 of 31 items
Next >>
|
|