Softly constructed soundscapes from Lisa and Kroffe

The Swedish duo continue to develop their comfortable yet boundary challenging sound

Lisa and Kroffe have been collaborating together for a while now, building up a discography of krautrock textured electronica. It’s been a journey through a wide expanse of territories, touching on genres such as folk, techno and light psychedelic.

Lisa is known for her work as the host of “Blue Monday”, one of Sweden’s most prominent music podcasts, while Kroffe is most often found amongst synths, both operating and constructing them.

Taking a step into their style of production you’ll find broad variety of approaches being employed, but the overall sense of Lisa and Kroffe’s work is that you’ve entered a sphere of gentleness. At times the tone is progressive, led through by soft beats. Other examples of their work exude a more meditative ambience, an environment coloured with delicately positioned waves of synth which encourage exploration of the self.

The duo has now reached the point of releasing their fourth album, a collection of ten tracks titled “Roslagens Famn”. Produced with support from ambient Swedish label Lamour Records, the album strikes a dreamlike note, adept at conjuring up soundscapes that feel fresh and without boundaries.

Our featured track from the “Roslagens Famn” is also the final inclusion on the LP: “Till Charlie”.

Stream the release on Spotify or support it on Bandcamp

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Boundary transcending neo-classical from Hideyuki Hashimoto

The Japanese artist brings forth unfiltered emotion, as his newest EP surfaces

Hideyuki Hashimoto of Kagawa Japan, excels within the genre of neo-classical. A skilled pianist Hashimoto uses light touches of electronica to elevate the soft, physical texture of his solo piano compositions. The normally silent background tones of shifting mechanisms within the piano are embraced, rather than highlighted and dug out from the final release. This ambient sound is drifted into his work, adding layers of organic warmth to his tracks and bringing down boundaries between the minimalist percussion and audience. Particularly during this time of isolation from live music, it’s an artistic choice which carries with it an emotional resonance.

Hashimoto has just made public his newest EP ‘Fragment’, a compact trio of songs which demonstrate the artist’s patient appreciation for the impact simple beauty can have. All three tracks were improvised at the time of recording, an approach which has allowed the pianist to capture a moments from the past two years with a raw and personal intensity.  Winter 2020, summer 2020, and winter 2021 have all been times of turmoil and unavoidable personal reflection. In the Fragment EP Hashimoto works to encapsulate memories, effectively creating a diary of sound; it’s warm, intimate, and evaporates distance that seems insurmountable.

Support the release on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify.

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Introspective expeditions: Neil Lord’s ‘Leaving the Vessel’

Continuing to expand the horizon of his craft, Austin-based multi-instrumentalist Neil Lord returns as new age, krautrock veteran Future Museums with the meditative new single “Leaving the Vessel.” Following a year-and-a-half on the road playing guitar and keys for singer-songwriters Molly Burch (Captured Tracks) and Jess Williamson (Mexican Summer), Lord gets back to his experimental roots with an immersive synth piece inspired by his own lucid dreams and astral projections. As an active member of the bands Single Lash, Thousand Foot Whale Claw, and numerous other projects, Lord’s prolific output is vast and varied, yet Future Museums remains his most introspective and personal work. As Lord dives beyond the barriers of the physical, the music of Future Museums has emerged with a gorgeous arrangement of pulsating electronics and healing tones. FFO: Steve Halpern • Michael Rother • Laraaji • Bitchin Bajas

Multi-instrumentalist Neil Lord seems compelled by experimentalism, a force which has led him into long-term collaborative projects, as well as serving as a consistent motivating factor for his more private work.

Since around 2012, two major groups have stood out as creative outlets for Lord. As a member of shoegaze band Single Lash, Lord’s skills are directed towards post punk style drums. Conversely, his affinity for electronica is drawn out when working with Thousand Foot Whale Claw; a four piece whose sound features flavours of Krautrock.

The avant-garde audio ventures of Thousand Foot Whale Claw most closely connect to the ambience Lord grasps as he tinkers with his own style of psychedelic electronica. Working under the moniker of Future Museums, Lord has been establishing a discography since 2009, and making moves to embrace the meditative quality of new age electronic. Drone style layered beats gain a hypnotic potency, as even the more organic aspects sink into the track and relinquish individuality.

The newest release from Future Museums is set for April 24th, another track created during this period of global isolation. Appropriate that the cosmic toned synths of ‘Leaving the Vessel’ begin to tempt the soul from the body.

Support the release on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify.

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Listen to more releases on the label - Holodeck Records
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Unique moments from Små Vågor - Fyrtornet

Provided to YouTube by IIP-DDS Fyrtornet · Små Vågor 4 ℗ Flora & Fauna Released on: 2019-09-20 Artist: Små Vågor Auto-generated by YouTube.

Hailing from Sweden, Ambient/Drone artist Henrik von Euler has worked under a number of monikers, and consistently produced note-worthy tracks with each incarnation. Euler also has 15 years of experience running the Swedish label Flora & Fauna, releasing music with a wide variety of artists. His new track Fyrtornet comes as part of his fourth album produced under the pseudonym of Små Vågor, meaning small waves.  

With field recordings of bird cries and wind, the sound produced sometimes borders on desolate, but the deep bass and alien flickers of synth which guide the track also help to bring in a feeling of warmth. Drone is a genre that can at times be jarring and aggressive, but again, that lower bass does so much to calm and reassure the listener. It could also be viewed as being experimental, but doesn’t cross the boundary where the desire to do something different leaves a track creative but unorganised.

Fyrtornet is the type of song that could be listened to at any time, but will resonate much more strongly if the listener is able to stumble into it at just the right moment. Headphones on a cold day, alone at 2am, the day reaching twilight; in slightly otherworldly and unique atmospheres like these, Fyrtornet can amplify that unique aesthetic.

Grab the whole album on vinyl or digital over on Bandcamp

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An Intimate Sound From Montpellier

arthrn, a multi-genre music producer from France, presents one of his ambient pieces titled ‘While’, as part of the Stagne EP which appeared on the web a few months ago.

Originality in sound design is certainly a quality that defines arthrn, this piece is one that creates a space taking on the presence beyond that which physical sound occupies. It offers a space of emotional depth, which is suggested by the harmonic yet inharmonic combination of sounds that disseminate across an ever lasting reverb, with shifting pitches and gliding chords, the melodic progressions are one of a kind.

Listening to While, in the distance of the reverb you will hear sounds reminding us of a horn, plucked instruments and sustained keys that are all made to sound unlike you would imagine.

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