Norway-based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Swoop and Cross joins piano and coffee records to release his sophomore full-length album Les Fauves.
Since the release of his acclaimed debut album with Time Released Sound in 2018, Swoop and Cross has been working on a new project entitled Les Fauves. As the name indicates, this project was profoundly influenced by fauvism, which inspired the use of heavy saturation, unconstrained orchestral segments and pointillistic revolving melodies and orchestrations.
Like the first renown fauvist exhibition in 1905, this album combines ‘in the same room’ various stylistically aggressive pieces with a more conservative track (CLVLL), highlighting the ferocious nature of the remainder tracks of the album. It is, ultimately, a depiction of visual and auditory noise in nowadays’ automaton-like societies, and an attempt to prove that inner quietness, here in the form of gentle melodies, can permeate and eventually overrule such noise.
This album was composed, recorded and mixed between 2018 and 2021, in London, UK, mastered at Black Knoll Studio, and will be available on the 4th of February on limited edition CD and digital format, featuring artwork by Celia Bayo that depicts a vestal virgin, which inspired track #4 Vestal, clashing restrained and feral styles.

Flare is the most recent project of Norwegian Erik K. Skodvin, otherwise known as Svarte Greiner, or as one half of Deaf Center…
Skodvin is pretty prolific (the CV on his website is vast), and would certainly be familiar to anyone with more than a passing interest in the Miasmah label, as he runs it, as well as doing graphic design and web work for this label and others to boot.
Flare opens with a brooding, percussive “Etching An Entrance”, great exercise in layering – plenty of implied melody and a staggering amount of instrumentation fading into solitary piano part. As far as opening tracks go, it a great foreboding piece that welcomes you inside and draws you in further.
The piano continues on with the introduction to “Matine”, slowly accompanied with some further stringed percussion. At this point the expansive mix becomes apparent – there’s a lot going on here, and it fills every corner of the speaker. That’s not to say cluttered either – the placement of all the parts is strong and everything is audible. There’s what sounds like bird noise or high-pitched strings as the track peaks, then recedes.
“Pitch Dark” follows, with some thumping and aggressive tones mixing in with some ethereal vocals drenched in reverb. The record has the all the characteristics of being recorded in an abandoned castle, deep underground in the desert. You can fairly hear the sand shifting…
“Failing Eyes” swirls around the speakers with plenty of bottom end, weight and depth. The track seems to go BACK a fair way, almost echoing off a distant wall.
“Neither Dust” is an insistent slow arpeggio with high tones creeping in from the edges to accompany sparse vocals and strings. The main instrument tone is intriguing – the first hint of any effects on any instrument that I could guess at.
“Graves” presents as treated percussion, with hiss dripping off it. Some guttural bass tones flicker in with more layers, building to an almost triumphant peak midway. For my money the standout track, and seemingly the heartbeat of the record, distinctive and menacing.
“Escaping The Day” lightens the mood somewhat, a spacious piano based affair with occasional sweeping and scraping strings.
“Stuck In Burning Dreams” is almost groove based, a byzantine mix of hammered strings and guitar tones. Dissonant and piercing, an incredibly assured bridge from track to track.
“Vanished” has the most outwardly drone like intro, before further chiming piano notes lift it out from itself, before submerging and rising again.
Closer “Caught In Flickering Lights” is a fairly maudlin and evocative piece to start, before again dropping into some fairly heavy hammering bass tones again. It’s quite a note to go out on.
The album as a whole bears the hallmark of someone who is not experimenting per se, but has a VERY CLEAR VISION of what is to be achieved at the end of the creative process. This record did not happen by accident, nor could it. I’d be curious to find out where and how it was recorded, as it has a really strong character of sound.
It is mentioned fairly regularly on articles on the net that this record represents a “friendlier” side to the artist, and is “only moderately dark”. I’d suggest to maybe not taking that statement at face value, as it is by nature pretty brooding, heavy and pensive. Those of you familiar with his work would not be surprised by what is on offer here, but those coming to it for the first time may find that it is not quite what they were expecting.
In saying that, it is a work of some considerable skill, and those not afraid of a few cobwebs and shadows will find the musicianship on offer rewarding. A perfect cinematic accompaniment to someone lost in the desert at night.
- Review by Alex Gibson for Fluid Radio

Wolven is a modern interpretation of the 2009 release "Wolfskin" by Ian Hawgood. "Wolfskin" contained a series of sketches inspired by childhood dreams and nightmares. The modern interpretations were based on these original sketches.
Disc 1 is an interpretation written and arranged by Ian Hawgood, with the help of Aaron Martin, Dag Rosenqvist, Spheruleus, Pillowdiver, y0t0 and Hakobune. All original music performed, arranged and mixed by Ian Hawgood.
Disc 2 is an interpretation written and arranged by Brock Van Wey (bvdub). All music by bvdub.

Breaking from the strange monotony and abnormal norms that took hold during two years of pandemic life, Hammock returns with "Love in the Void", an album that looks to the future, seizes the present, and unabashedly relishes the experiences and bonds that bring meaning to our days. Known for crafting orchestral works of stirring cinematic ambience, on "Love in the Void" the Nashville-based duo of Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson bring guitar-forward, heart-pounding urgency to songs that shout through and shatter the static of complacency.
Since forming as Hammock in 2003, Byrd and Thompson have released 11 critically-acclaimed albums, and are renowned for their unique talent for bringing inexpressible emotion to life. The Covid-19 pandemic followed closely after one of Hammock’s career-defining works, the Mysterium, Universalis, and Silencia trilogy that chronicled the incomprehensible loss of Byrd’s 20-year-old nephew. At their homes and apart, Byrd and Thompson then recorded Elsewhere, an album of shimmering ambience that channeled alienated longing and displacement into avenues that gave way to worlds and possibilities yet realized.
Shaken awake and needing to break free of frustrations and longings, "Love in the Void" pulses with an unbridled spirit for action and experience and a burning desire for connection. Across songs that hammer home the keenly felt emotions of life’s highs and lows, Byrd and Thompson crest soaring crescendos awash in reverb and delve to keenly felt moments of quiet introspection, with unflinching lyrics on tracks like “Undoing” and “Denial of Endings'' that weigh choices made and circumstances that can’t be changed. Lush and dramatic string orchestration from Matt Kidd (Slow Meadow) and emphatic drumming from Jake Finch heighten the stakes in play, and Christine Byrd’s (Lumenette) ethereal vocals leave mysteries lingering in the haze.
"Love in the Void" is Hammock’s loudest album to date, embracing daring and vulnerability with palpable vitality at its core. Wide-eyed and looking forward, "Love in the Void" moves into an unknown future without fear. -Wyatt Marshall

180 gram audiophile vinyl.Gatefold sleeve in PVC protective sleeve.Made in the Netherlands.

The Cinematic Orchestra presents In Motion #1
「僕が作りたいのはポピュラー・カルチャーに根ざした音楽で、そのためには映像との結びつきや映画音楽の影響が重要なんだ。ヴィジュアル・アートを勉強していた僕にとっては、映像と音楽が結びついていくのは自然な流れだった。『Man with a Movie Camera』では、ジガ・ヴェルトフの無声映画という既成の映像に音楽をつけることで、ふたつが結びついた。『Ma Fleur』ではオリジナルの映像を想定して音楽を作った。僕は複雑で強烈なインパクトをもたらす映像というメディアとの結びつきを模索することで、新しい音楽を作ることができると思う」 - by ジェイソン・スウィンスコー
■国内盤3ヶ月のみの期間限定発売!
■豪華スペシャル・パッケージ仕様!
【NINJA TUNE】を代表するアーティストであり、ここ日本でも絶大な人気を誇るザ・シネマティック・オーケストラ(以下シネマティック)がSonarSound Tokyo出演を記念して、最新音源を緊急発売。
デビュー作『Motion』、彼らの名を世界中に知らしめた傑作『Everyday』、生楽器を全面的にフィーチャーした『Ma Fleur』などの作品でジャンルを超越した壮大なサウンドで世界中のファンを魅了する彼等。またロシアの無声アヴァンギャルド映画の傑作『Man With A Movie Camera』に生演奏でサウンドトラックをつけるという革新的パフォーマンスが大反響を起こし、音楽以外の幅広い層からも喝采を浴びた。さらに英ロイヤル・アルバート・ホールでライブを行い、その貴重な音源を収録した 『Live At The Royal Albert Hall』もリリースされている。その他、ディズニーのドキュメンタリー企画第1弾となった映画『フラミンゴに隠された地球の秘密』のサントラ制作や、来日公演の成功でその人気を不動のものとする。
そして現在は『In Motion』と題し、ジェイソン自らが選んだミュージシャン達と映像に生演奏で音を付けていくライブ・パフォーマンスを行っており、本作はライブで実演した楽曲を、新たにスタジオで再録音した彼らの最新音源である。
いずれの収録曲も斬新かつアヴァンギャルドな映像作品からインスピレーションを得て制作されており、彼らの魅力が最大限に反影されている。中でもシネマティックによる楽曲は、現代アメリカ写真界の巨匠ポール・ストランドと写真家チャールズ・シーラーが1921年に制作した『Manhatta』、マルセル・デュシャンやマン・ レイ、エリック・サティなど前衛芸術界の名士たちが出演した事でも有名なルネ・クレール監督 『Entr'acte』とのコラボレーションにより制作されており、シネマティック独特のモダニズムと美しいサウンド・スケー プで表現されている。
また今作には15歳からジャズ・ピアニストとして活躍するオースティン・ペラルタや、新世代ビートメイカーのドリアン・コンセプト達も参加している。

Piano Day 2021 sees Nils Frahm surprise the world with his Erased Tapes debut. Wait, what? How? Anyone who has seen the trail blazing sonic pioneer live will know Nils likes to deadpan a joke. Graz is in fact the first studio album he recorded for the label back in 2009, that somehow remained a secret... until now.
Nils Frahm has quietly changed the musical landscape, reincarnating the centuries old figure of a pianist-composer for a new generation of music fans. As Nils’ word-of- mouth popularity grew and grew, so did the pop-culture profile of his instrument. He founded Piano Day with a team of like-minded friends in 2015 to help that process, some years releasing an album of piano recordings to celebrate one of humankind’s greatest inventions. Graz is one such record; an unheard snapshot of a young Nils recorded at Mumuth, the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, in 2009 as part of the thesis Conversations for Piano and Room produced by Thomas Geiger, Whilst at the time it was decided to keep the grand piano recordings from the Graz sessions locked away and instead focus on his close mic’ed, dampened piano explorations which would become his acclaimed studio album Felt in 2011, two of the pieces — most notably Hammers — lived on as part of his live set, and were expanded on and re-recorded as part of his breakthrough 2013 record Spaces (a collage of field recordings from concerts which broke the Fourth Wall and included audience coughs). Over his mercurial career, Nils has pushed and pulled at the boundaries and parameters of his prolific work like that. He’s physically changed his piano (the softened prepared strings of Felt) played with a modified body (Screws recorded with 9 fingers and a broken thumb) played with scale (Solo recorded on the 3.7 metre high Klavins M370) and with the different layers of formats (last year’s Tripping with Nils Frahm nested his studio setup inside a live performance, concert film and live album). Now with Graz he has found the final frontier for play: time itself and his own discography.
Graz is a moment of time at the very beginning of Nils’ quiet revolution. The essential genius is already evident; the harmonic language of classical, and the immediacy of jazz. Nils seems to pull down each idea moment by moment, gently, to not scare away the muse. He describes: “sometimes when you hear a piano, you might think it’s a conversation between a woman and a man. At the same time, it can hint at shapes of the universe and describe how a black hole looks. You can make sounds that have no relation to anything we can measure.”
which received an award in the Classical Surround Recording category at the 127th AES Convention in New York.
A grand piano is a particular kind of beast to play, which will only sound refined and beautiful if you command a strong control over the keyboard. Each slight change in touch results in a different timbre, which will be rewarded when used wisely and will be your trapdoor when you fail to hold the horses. I remember how I had to squeeze the music out of the grand piano in the Graz sessions, and while I enjoy listening to it now, I kept these recordings secret for a good while – they sound like a much younger version of myself to me, and a lot of the musical expressions from that time would be impossible for me to replicate today. Close friends whom I had shared the record with reminded me of it once in a while, and some of the pieces got released in other versions on the album Spaces in the meantime. But somehow, any piece of music you create wants to get out there in order to find you, which is why I’m glad to share this beast with you and do hope you enjoy listening to it too! Love, Nils
credits
released March 29, 2021
All music written and played by Nils Frahm
at Mumuth, Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Graz as part of the thesis Conversations for Piano and Room Vocals on Hammers by Peter Broderick
Production and recording engineer Thomas Geiger
Recording assistant Linda Lüchtrath
Mixed by Nils Frahm at several places
Mastered by Zino Mikorey
Vinyl Cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle
Design by Studio Torsten Posselt
Photography by Sebastian Rieck
P&C 2021 Erased Tapes Records Ltd.
Published by Manners McDade Music Publishing Ltd.

"The story of Thunder Lay Down in the Heart begins with the poem “A Boy” written in 1956 by John Ashbery, well before he became the world renown, Pulitzer Prize winning poet we know him as today. In a rare collaboration, Tignor recorded Ashbery reading the work in his Chelsea apartment, surrounding it with his own original musical setting for strings that opens the record. A line from this poem became the title of Tignor’s twenty-minute work for string orchestra, electronics, and drums, featuring eminent Boston-based ensemble A Far Cry. The album’s B side continues the process of reinterpretation as Tignor electronically reimagines and remixes the title piece into “The Listening Machines” and “To Draw a Perfect Circle”, creating spellbinding ambient adventures derived directly from the tapes of this ensemble’s gut-wrenching virtuoso performance. Ending as we began with collaboration, the record’s final remix, “First, Impressions”, was created with composer / pianist Rachel Grimes (of Rachel's).
In the 90’s Christopher Tignor immersed himself in minimalism, working as an assistant for LaMonte Young while learning sound engineering on the job at a New York contemporary music festival produced by Philip Glass. He went on to refine his skills mixing live sound for bands at two of New York’s seminal clubs, CBGB’s and Brownies. During this time Tignor also studied computer science, developing his unique software instruments for processing sounds. He released, composed, and produced 3 albums with his band Slow Six, and two albums with his high-energy duo Wires Under Tension. Tignor has also contributed his skills as violinist and string arranger both in the studio and on tour to This Will Destroy You, John Congleton’s Nighty Nite, and Lymbyc Systym.
“Thunder Lay Down in the Heart” is Tignor’s second LP released under his own name following his much acclaimed 2009 Core Memory Unwound. This album explores the natural link between numerous musical disciplines including contemporary classical, ranging from John Adams to Aaron Copland to John Luther Adams, melodic rock, ambient drone music, and electronic experimental artists such as William Basinski."

When Nils Frahm kicked off his world tour at Funkhaus Berlin in January 2018 to bring his highly acclaimed studio album All Melody to the stage, an ambitious journey was just to begin: Over the next two years, Frahm played more than 180 sold-out performances, including the Sydney Opera House, LA’s Disney Hall, the Barbican in London, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and several big festival stages around the globe. Yet the stunning setting of Funkhaus Berlin, renowned for its vintage grandeur and outstanding acoustics, and also home to Frahm’s magnificent studio where All Melody was recorded, had occupied a unique place in the artist's heart.
In December 2018, Nils Frahm eventually returned to Funkhaus Berlin to host another set of four shows, tickets sold out within hours. Frahm’s friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde — a collaborator since 2011 — captured the concerts on film, only using handheld cameras, and employing techniques he had mastered for the famous concert series La Blogotèque, which featured some of the world’s most popular artists.
Tripping with Nils Frahm is an illustration of Nils’s lauded ability as a composer and passionate live artist as well as the enchanting atmosphere of his captivating, and already legendary Funkhaus shows: An extraordinary musical trip – rare and exclusive, close and intimate, bringing a unique concert experience to the screen.
"It was about time to document my concerts in picture and sound, trying to freeze a moment of this period where my team and I were nomads, using any method of travel to play yet another show the next day. Maybe tonight is the night where everything works out perfectly and things fall into place?
Normally things go wrong with concerts, but by combining our favourite moments of four performances, we were able to achieve what I was trying to do in these two years of touring: getting it right!
When you hear the applause on the end of the film you should know that I was smiling happily, being a tad proud and feeling blessed to share these moments with you.
Much love, Nils"

released 02 September 2015
Jacob David - omkuld [MR008]
composed & produced by Jacob David
additional production and engineering by Thomas Haahr
mixed & mastered by Morten Bue
piano - Jacob David
violins & tenor violin - Kristian Jørgensen
cello - Line Felding
artwork by Dennis Morton

Modern-classic, piano

“When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, Screws. Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for. ”
— Much love, Nils

Yann Tiersen releases his brand new album All. All is the first album to be recorded at Tiersen’s new studio, venue and community centre, The Eskal, built in an abandoned discotheque on the island of Ushant, a small island positioned in the Celtic sea between Brittany and Cornwall, Tiersen’s home for the past 10 years. The album, mixed and co-produced by Gareth Jones, continues the themes of environment and a connection to nature first explored on EUSA, incorporating recordings from outside of Brittany, such as the redwood forests of California as well as field recordings from Tempelhof airport in Berlin (on ‘Tempelhof’), plus guest vocalists.