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viewing 1 To 12 of 12 items
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OKTAF 013CD
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Still Air is the third solo album by Japanese electronic musician and soundtrack composer Teruyuki Nobuchika. Nobuchika released Morceau in 2009 and Sonorité in 2011. The eight track album on German label Oktaf Records features electronic abstractions and classic sensitivity influences in a minimal ambient music context.
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OKTAF 012CD
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Marsen Jules releases his concept album Shadows in Time on Oktaf Records Ever since Steve Reich's "It's Gonna Rain" and Brian Eno's Music For Airports, musicians have used different techniques to create music, which modulates on the basis of strict rules of varying over and over and thus emerges from the very moment itself. Thereby, it is the great depth of a composer's artistry to determine the possibilities, to define the fine line between stagnation and chaos, to sound the limits between monotony and cacophony. Following this tradition is also german ambient musician Martin Juhls aka Marsen Jules. For more than a decade, the sound poet has been reviving touching acoustic moments and condensing them to musical jewels. While doing so, he likes to compare his way of working with the approaches to abstract painting: The sound particles turn into timbres and tone colors that Jules arranges on the compositional canvas of time and space as quietly flowing snapshot. Marsen Jules has refined this technique more and more over the past years and has developed it further in every detail. Thus, his compositions vary on all sorts of levels and modulate in all ranges of the spectrum of sound, reaching deep into the granular structure of the sounds. That way, seemingly static sound structures are created and they vary endlessly, making every single moment absolutely unique. A simple process that is so complex in itself, that even modern high-performance computer systems cannot capture it. Shadows in Time is a generative composition that originates from within itself over and over again in unique forms. What, on the surface, conveys the impression of steady repetitions, in detail turns out to be a constant variation of continuous uniqueness.
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OKTAF 011CD
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"Here's the thing about Denzel + Huhn. They treat sound like nobody else. Everything is precious, worthy to be recorded, archived, digitalized, processed, and eventually spit out again on a record like Brom, Denzel + Huhn's first since 2007... Bertram had been busy with music for movies and high-profile TV shows, Erik too, he says, but he wants everybody to know that he bought a new guitar and a valve-powered amp to go with it... I had always considered Denzel + Huhn's music to be extremely special, yet more or less completely overlooked by the busy mainstream, unable to cope with their very particular and peculiar approach to music... Brom is a very special record. This is why I don't have time for platitudes like 'the experimental duo from Berlin' or 'critically acclaimed Oktaf label.' That stuff just does not matter... Two things have always been extremely important for Erik and Bertram: sampling and collaborating. With each other, but also with other people. This is what happened recording Brom as well, but on a completely new scale. 'We'd normally start off by sampling tons of records, always looking for bits and pieces to work with. This time, we also started with sampling, but we recorded the stuff ourselves,' says Bertram. 'Instruments, field recordings, experimenting with microphones, looking for a new kind of ambience as a basis for our tracks. We've enjoyed this very much, so we were inviting friends to bring their instruments and ideas into the fold.' Tarwater's Ronald Lippok is among that crew, as is Brandt Brauer Frick's Florian Juncker playing the trombone. You'll also hear many self-made instruments on Brom, plus the 'hang,' a kind of Swiss-made steel drum with a confusing esoteric heritage. Bringing all this into the mix, 'the record sounds more mature and complete in a way,' says Bertram. What really matters is that Denzel + Huhn actually made another record. Maybe their best one yet. Who am I to judge? All I know is that this record matters in a big way, more than you can imagine. Just listen to 'Schlagton,' the album-closer, which condenses a million centuries of music history into a pop song four minutes and 17 seconds long. If this tune does not provoke tears in your eyes, you're dead. Sorry for being so blunt. The truth sometimes hurts. Trust me, I've learned this the hard way." --Thaddeus Herrmann, Berlin, 2015
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OKTAF 010CD
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German ambient composer Marsen Jules presents The Empire of Silence, an impressive soundtrack to the epic power and beauty of Nordic snow- and ice-landscapes. He sounds even more elegiac, warm, and romantic than ever before, which may be a result of a strict reduction to bittersweet symphonic string-sounds, sounds that Jules lets subtly meander on the listeners' eardrums, moving on the particle-layer of the sound-continuum. Diving deeper into the sounds than ever before, he lets the frequencies reflect across the sound spectrum with an impressive precision. Actually, there is not much space for real silence on the album. Instead, the epic sounds of The Empire of Silence seem to unfold their archaic euphoria best at high volumes. It's a euphoria that carries everything away and occupies the whole space. For the track titles of the eight gems on this album Jules refers to different words for "snow" in the Inuit languages, of which legend says there are dozens. While the melancholic openers "penstla" (the idea of snow) and "tlaslo" (snow that falls slowly) travel softly, the album raises to its full euphoria with "kayi" (drifting snow) and "skriniya" (snow that never reaches the ground). With its epic magic, the nine-minute "katiyana" (night snow) thrills the listener, while "naklin" (forgotten snow) brings a short inhale. The album finds its peak with the ecstatic glissandi of "chathalin" (snow that makes a sizzling sound as it falls on water) and finds its finish in the beautiful and lofty "ylaipi" (tomorrow's snow).
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OKTAF 009CD
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Following his highly-acclaimed album Beautyfear (OKTAF 007CD), which is still featured besides Trentemøller and Bonobo in the top-ten of German chill out charts, sound poet Marsen Jules bridges the time with the release of a conceptual mini-album on his own Oktaf Records. The two tracks on the 35-minute long album were created during a two-week residency in the legendary GRM-Studios at Radio France in Paris. The Groupe de Recherches Musicales is an institute for the exploration of electroacoustic music. It was founded in 1958 by composer Pierre Schaeffer, one of the main protagonists of so-called "musique concrete," a musical movement that focused on recorded sounds and sound manipulations as a basis for compositions. Therefore, the artists used tape recorders and record players as their instruments and widened the musical horizon, which until then was only defined through classically-known instruments. These ideas of defining every acoustic event as possible music and the approach to explore the individual universe of such a sound have always been a big inspiration for Martin Juhls' music. Therefore, it was a big honor for the artist to be able to work at this legendary space for two weeks in 2009. For the two tracks created at GRM, Jules dives deeply into the level of subatomic sound-particles. Clusters of string crescendos emerge from a nearly psychoacoustic sound-wall of warm drones in which they disappear with ultra-long fade-outs and reverbs. A touching work -- which has the quality to let the listener drown into it completely.
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OKTAF 008CD
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Lufth's Distanz und Nähe on Oktaf Records accompanies the return of German experimental-dubtech and electronica producer Joerg Schuster. With his unique trademark sound and former releases on Source Records, Thinner and Archipel as Digitalverein and Sensual Physics, Schuster has already established a loyal and enthusiastic fan-crowd all around the world. His debut album as Lufth now introduces us to his most personal and experimental release so far -- a 55 minute-long collection of nine tracks that have been created over the past decade. As already done on other releases, Schuster makes a strong reference to the German Ruhr area, the former industrial area where he lives, whereas other tracks make reference to inner states and personal developments. The opening tune "Democracy Is Dead Like Printed Matter" combines crispy beat-fragments with cineastic Pink Floyd-like synthesizer pads. "Methan on Mars" incorporates downtempo beats with experimental noises and "Duisburg Links" slows down even more for some subtle and tricky dub melodies. The title-track reveals the most beats within this album -- a nice electronica track with floating hook-lines. Extremely slowed-down and filtered dubs can be heard again on "Rotes Dortmund," which is one of the most touching tracks on this album. "Motion- Emotion" displays a futuristic version of abstracted tango. "Nicht ohne Dich (Not Without You)" and "Ebbe und Flut (Ebb and Flow)" conquer the listener with tricky beats and super-nice melodies. The album is closed with the beautiful 10-minute epos "Zwischen uns der Mund (Between Us the Mouth)." All in all, Schuster once again convinces with his abstract trademark sounds and a super-futuristic interpretation of today's dub-electronica.
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OKTAF 007CD
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With Beautyfear on Oktaf Records, German electronic musician Marsen Jules delivers one of his most outstanding albums so far. Mastered by no one else than 12K label-boss Taylor Deupree and with a cover picture taken by the highly-acclaimed photographer Erik Madigan Heck from NYC, the best conditions are laid for a lasting experience of abstract musical poetry and touching soundscapeism. Jules has never been this dense, subtle and fragile before. All 12 tracks on Beautyfear were created during a week stay in a theater workspace on one of the hills of Lisbon. The panoramic view over the dusty city in Spring seemed to have been the perfect surrounding for these cloudy soundscapes, which at some points remind of Angelo Badalamenti's work for David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. "It's an album on the fragility of beauty," Jules describes briefly -- music that can neither be described as ambient music or experimental sound art, but more likely delivers a poetic approach to music and sound itself. With Beautyfear, Marsen Jules makes a great start into 2014 along with the already announced cooperation with Swedish filmmaker Anders Weberg and an upcoming release of his works from a residence at the legendary GRM studios in Paris, one should definitely keep an eye on what is coming next.
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OKTAF 006CD
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The Uruguay-born Gastón Arévalo presents his debut CD Rollin Ballads via Oktaf Records. His fascination with natural and urban surroundings developed as a result of growing up close to the harbor of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, being surrounded by the city on the one hand and old architecture, fishermen, boats and the sea and subtropical nature on the other. His earliest acoustic childhood impressions and associations from these surroundings are still his most vivid -- for example, the sounds of the textile factory, which used to be his father's workplace. His latest recordings are intensely inspired by natural and organic sounds. Tracks like "Selvagem" are the result of field recordings of long walks at sun-down mixed with the unconventional sounds of natural elements such as stones and bones. The result is a synaesthetic impression of foggy, far away landscapes, yet still flooded with light, which is what Arévalo intends with his aurally and visually-stunning tracks. "Souvenir," "Rollin Ballad I," and "Geographia II" allow the listener to lose himself in the neverending repetitions evoking those images. Classically-trained, Arévalo intersperses analog sounds into his tracks as he incorporates modulated and modified fragments and passages played by instruments, evoking the musical influence of classic ambient-sound connoisseurs such as Brian Eno, Terry Riley, Arvo Pärt, and Erik Satie. As a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on experimental ambient music, this record is based on neo-classical sound collages and modulated and synthesized field recordings rife with hidden melodies and abstract sound structures. This is music that presents mirror images of life -- always moving and constantly changing.
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OKTAF 005CD
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German ambient connaisseur and sound poet Marsen Jules (aka Martin Juhls) is well-known for his releases on City Center Offices, Kompakt, and his own label, Oktaf Records. On stage he often combines his atmospheric soundscapes with live musicians. A steady formation is the Marsen Jules Trio, which features the twin brothers Anwar Alam and Jan-Philipp Alam on piano and violins accompanied by Jules' restrained live-sampling, bowed percussion and singing wine glasses. With their debut album Présence Acousmatique on Oktaf Records, the musicians bring their "acoustic presence" to CD for the first time. It features six highly atmospheric sound sculptures between ambient, avant-garde, classic and modern jazz. Whereas the opening "OEillet Parfait/OEillet Sauvage" is still a variation of a track from Jules' Les Fleurs album, all other tracks are composed for the trio or developed out of the cooperation itself. Two tracks also feature saxophone player Roger Döring (Dictaphone) as a guest musician. The combination of dark soundscapes and saxophone on "Histoire de la nuit" and "Éclipse" makes one think of an ambient version of Bohren & der Club of Gore. The abstract "Excalibur" and "Maison en Vitre" are reminiscent of early avant-garde classic and twelve-tone music, and the closing "Les trains stortent de la gare" is a bittersweet composition for piano and violin held together by sparkling percussion.
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OKTAF 004CD
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There are not many artists who have had such an important influence on today's ambient music as the outstanding piano player and composer, Harold Budd. Albums like his classical Pavilion Of Dreams or his collaborations with Brian Eno like The Pearl are well-known to many electronic and ambient musicians of the last several decades. Martin Juhls (aka Marsen Jules) and Rafael Anton Irisarri (aka The Sight Below) have often talked about the influence that Harold Budd's music has had on them, and how much respect and admiration they have for him and his work. Out of this came the idea of paying respect to Budd in some way, to give something back to him. Lost In The Humming Air is the result of this thought in the form of a musical tribute, and it is Oktaf's honor to release this in the 50th year of Mr. Budd's career as a composer. The label invited some of their favorite artists to contribute a song that, in some way, resembled the music of Harold Budd or channeled the influence he has had on them as musicians. Hence, Lost In The Humming Air is a special selection of 13 modern ambient pieces from illustrious contributors such as Mokira, Taylor Deupree, Deaf Center, Christopher Willits, Biosphere, Porn Sword Tobacco and Bvdub. While all of the tracks offer a unique perspective on how the now-classical sounds of Harold's music have been an influence in one way or the other, they still manage to maintain a sound that is closely connected to each individual musician. Deaf Center contributed the dark and moody "Plateau," which was originally the opening track of a rare live performance from the duo in 2009. Xela made an exception of not participating in compilation projects anymore with his sublime home-listening piece "The Only Rose," which resembles his earlier work for labels such as Neo Ouija and City Centre Offices. For the first time ever, Brock Van Wey has collaborated with his mother Criss Van Wey, who played the piano for their heartbreaking elegy "My Father, My Friend." We hope that, by releasing this record, we can give something back to Harold Budd and maybe also help a younger generation of ambient aficionados to discover the beauty of his timeless music. Liner notes included. All artists who contributed in this release donated their tracks. The profit of this CD will go to a charity project chosen by Harold Budd. Other artists include: Loscil, Martin Fuhs and Andrew Thomas.
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OKTAF 003CD
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In 2005, Marsen Jules won over the hearts of many ambient enthusiasts with his CD debut Herbstlaub (CCO 023LP), released on the prestigious Berlin electronica imprint City Centre Offices. By that time, it was mainly Wolfgang Voigt and his famous Gas project who was associated with elegiac variations of orchestral sound fragments. Soon after its release, Herbstlaub helped to shape the sound of many aspiring artists such as Rafael Anton Irisarri and Deaf Center and was considered to be a kind of blueprint for the now-popular neo classics genre. With Nostalgia, Marsen Jules now delivers the eagerly-awaited follow- up to Herbstlaub, six years after its initial release. The eight tracks on the CD all have a strong taste of yearning and melancholia that picks things up where Jules left them in 2005. Even more than before, orchestral elements are now the center of the elegiac sound tableaus. These fragments allow the willing listener to get a small, but nevertheless intense glimpse into the unique sonic array that Marsen Jules is capable of creating. Desire, rebellion and mortality are the three central motifs that are explored over the course of the 43-minute running time. The opener "A Moment of Grace" transports the listener deeply into the musical universe of Marsen Jules by marrying fragile strings with sparse electronic elements. With its dramatic strings, the title track "Nostalgia" oscillates between stasis and motion, between rebellion and resignation. With "Shadow/Waltz" and "Endless Whisper Of The Old Brigade," Marsen Jules explores the darker side of his sonic continuum by painting ethereal, droning ambient soundscapes. After two dark and distorted tracks, the album finds its way back to its dreamier side with "Sweet Sweet Longing" and "Kunderas Dream." Finally, Marsen Jules releases the listener into a better, more peaceful world with the hauntingly beautiful "Sleep My Brother, Sleep." With his spherical compositions, Nostalgia offers the perfect soundtrack for windy spring nights for everybody interested in ambient, electronica and modern classical music.
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OKTAF 001CD
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The new label Oktaf is a platform for music in the realm of ambient, neo-classical and modern jazz. Marsen Jules presents one of his most important albums to-date -- a work of warm, shimmering ambient soundscapes, originally released on the Autoplate label in 2004, now available on CD for the first time and completely remastered. The Dortmund-based musician has been pushing the boundaries between ambient and neo-classical with his releases on City Centre Offices as well as with his contributions to the renowned Pop Ambient series on Kompakt for quite some time now. His music casts a delicate warmth that combines both digital and analog elements to create a sound that has inspired many artists over the years. With a completely reworked and remastered version, Marsen Jules fulfills his wish to release this gem from the back-catalog of the internet-label Thinner so that it will get the attention it deserves. On his follow-up to 2003's Lazy Sunday Funerals, Marsen Jules continues to work on his vision of blending otherworldly strings with fragile ambient sounds. The resulting compositions are reminiscent of the deep, atmospheric sounds of the Pop Ambient compilations, but in their minimalistic approach also pay respect to experimental composers such as Steve Reich and Eric Satie. The source material for Yara was the recording of a band from the circle of Marsen Jules' friends. After listening to it repeatedly, the background noises of the concert that were recorded accidently became more and more important for him: the tuning of an instrument, the opening of a beer can, the laughter of someone from the audience -- emotional moments that transcend the music itself and capture the very atmosphere of the concert. These acoustic fragments were afterwards digitally re-edited in the sense of musique concrète and then put together again to create a texture of elegant ambient sounds. The result is a highly personal sonic web of modulated loops and permanent tempo variations that have influenced many musicians in their creative output. The re-mastered version now impresses with an even richer, more complex sound than the original. In addition, U.S. designer Noah McDonald provided the cover artwork. Includes two bonus tracks not included on the original release. Limited to 500 copies only.
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