a r t i s t : VA
t i t l e : Hidden Landscapes
d a t e : 2011
l a b e l : audio gourmet
g e n r e : Ambient
r l s. d a t e : Feb/2011
t r a c k s : 14
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 102,5 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
Audio Gourmet is a netlabel run by ambient artist Harry
Towell, a label that grew out of the Audio Gourmet blog where
Harry was posting reviews, mixtapes, and releases. With the
help of Jonathan Lees from Hibernate Recordings, the netlabel
was set up to showcase a collection of music released for free
under the Creative Commons license. This netlabel -
conceptually based around mini albums, E.Ps and short pieces
of sound-art - has been slowly growing its release portfolio
through 2010. The release schedule now leads to the
compilation 'Hidden Landscapes', which includes music from a
variety of ambient and soundscape artists that release music
for a number of labels and in various guises.
It starts beautifully. The listener is immediately wrapped up
in the warm organic sounds of Offthesky & Pillowgarden, which
interweaves simple plucked guitar along with sparse
electronics. The guitar sounds distant, almost as if it's been
recorded in a separate room, and sounds all the better for it.
The track initiates a wonderful first half to the record, the
high-point being ibreathefur's My Resonant Heart, which builds
into a wonderful keyboard driven wall of sound. Pretty special
as it goes. The next five or six tracks run in a similar vein
and have been placed into a well thought-out running order
that washes over you so much that before you know it, you're
half way through and wondering where the time's gone.
The second half of the release treads a slightly darker path,
introducing more industrial sounds into the mix, and making
the listener work for the rewards that are coming. A case in
point is Martin Heritich's Black Branches, which starts dark
and sporadically intense before lightening into a sombre and
moving refrain punctuated by some sparse piano. Further on in
the track order, the pieces become more distorted and haunted,
making you question whether it's a turn in the music, or your
own reaction to the release as a whole. The final track by
Damian Valles is fantastic, built around distorted guitars and
atmospherics and providing a fitting end to a really strong
compilation.
The best ambient music, for me, is that which makes the
everyday seem more worthwhile, and completely drowns you in
its sounds, blocking everything else out around you. It
immerses you in what you're hearing, and when you're done, It
makes your day that little bit more beautiful for having
listened to it. There are parts of this Hidden Landscapes that
easily reach those heights.
Hidden Landscapes is available now from Audio Gourmet
Reviewed by Jonathan Hill for Future Sequence.
_______________________________________________________________________
01-offthesky and pillowgarden - abandon leaf [04:02]
02-maps and diagrams - everybody's got something to hide [03:26]
03-ibreathefur - my resonant heart [05:40]
04-hessien - hypothesis [06:28]
05-the green kingdom - velvet landscape [03:44]
06-spheruleus - frost [03:33]
07-m. ostermeier - central [06:05]
08-nicola ratti - nordich [06:32]
09-machinefabriek - toendra [05:57]
10-martin herterich - black branches [06:40]
11-pillowdiver - drugged on the permafrost [07:19]
12-damian valles - antumbra [06:58]
13-fabio orsi - tropfen [04:32]
14-philip sulidae - broken toes [06:56]
-------
77:52 min