A glimpse into Camille Frey's debut release. Welcome to “The Grand Tour”
Read MoreCinematic and psychological, Wiklow's Bloom EP Dives Deep
Canadian digital media artist and composer Myke Dean, aka Wiklow, wraps up an eventful 2019 with a pensive yet purposeful EP entitled ‘Bloom’ out now on Montreal’s eclectic UNLOG imprint. Serving as the culmination of years of audio research alongside his visual collaborators Diagraf and Push 1 stop, ‘Bloom’ serves as a contemporary reduction of sorts to Wiklow’s sound of fragmented instrumentation and high tech sound design.
The EP opens with the deceivingly subdued ambiance of ‘Less than a Ghost More than a Shade’. Yet it shouldn’t take long for the casual observer to realize that all is not cherry blossoms and plum trees as more dissonant notes take over plunging the listener into an icy cold bath of pitched delays and subterranean spurts of noise.
The EP appropriately opens up into a subsequent number of idm infused, highly detailed electronic excursions highlighting Wiklow’s attention to detail and keen ear to atmosphere. Before sending the listener off into hyperspace, a final and lasting impression is downloaded with ‘Do Not Shiver in my Memory’. The parting track leaves us with a feeling of interstellar nostalgia and perhaps even utter defeat, yet somewhere in between the rolling percussion and sawtooth waveforms there lies some sort of resilient emotional expression which might even resemble hope.
Support the release over on Bandcamp
Hear more from Wiklow
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Check out Montreal’s UNLOG label
Website / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Twitter / Instagram
Quebec city's Gramofaune blends the electronic and acoustic in new album 'Fear Not'
Gramofaune is the project of Gabriel Gagné, a musician and producer based in Quebec City. Originally a classical guitarist, it wasn’t until Gabriel heard artists like Bonobo and Four Tet that he started experimenting with more electronic soundscapes. His compositions are characterized by their diverse sound design palette ; melding acoustic and electronic elements to form deeply moving emotive collages.
His new album ‘Fear Not’ is a smattering of finely tuned electronic environments to lose yourself in. 10 tracks of tastefully prepared landscapes rich in micro percussion, voltage charged melodies, and the occasional acoustic expression. The album is a definite start-to-finish listen that offers up a new sonic treasure around each twist and turn. Featuring a number of musical guests such as: Étienne Masson (drums on "Trails") Philippe Gagné (handpan on "Grande Faune") Pascal Ouellet (dulcimer on "For Pascal") and La Renarde (voice on "Entanglement") - these collaborations add another dimension to an already stellar album.
Support ‘Fear Not’ on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify
Check our more from Gramofaune
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Astred Collective's Anthony Bailey drops blissed out beats in 'Maelstrom Of Thoughts'.
Being a writer for ADSR means there is going to be a certain amount of bias in this review because Anthony Bailey is also a part of a creative collective. ‘Astred’, based out of Montreal, are on a mission to “promote universality, accessibility, empowerment & leadership in youth culture through music and art” and while doing my research for this review, I found that getting that message out there took centre stage rather than Bailey pushing his work through his own release. It’s inspiring to see this kind of integrity and dedication to a higher cause and of course myself and everyone else at ADSR hope to share the same values through what we do. It’s always nice to come across artists who are pushing community through music and art. Values, which in my opinion, could very well be translated to all aspects of life.
Bias aside, ‘Want To Feel You’ is simply an excellent piece of lush lo-fi escapism. It’s a warm, infectious well crafted instrumental that creates the slickest of grooves from the play between the laid-back vocal, stripped back drums, dreamy Rhodes and seductive sax/guitar stabs. This is a quality release from Bailey and the good news is there are six more tracks of the same standard on the ‘Maelstrom Of Thoughts” Ep from which ‘Want To Feel You’ hails. This is a perfect blissed out beat for any favourable playlist, from a producer who has loads of talent to share and continues to hone his craft daily.
Catch more from Anthony Bailey:
Itunes
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Tidal
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A lofi house gem from Montreal's Moox
It could be the chill of December, or those hearty dishes of smoked meat poutine, but Montreal lofi house producer ‘Moox’ has that special sound to keep you warm all winter long.
His regular uploads of laid back, head nodding house jams throughout 2018 have caught the attention of vibey youtube channel “Moskalus’ and San Francisco label ‘Routine Espresso Recordings'. Continually honing his hazy sound, this past year has seen a number of edits, free downloads, releases and collaborations hit the airwaves from the young Canadian producer.
His recent track ‘My House’ features a warm and welcoming bassline accented by some classic hi hats and percussion up top. Piano infused pads rise and fall to bring movement to the piece, while some cleverly placed vocal samples give a nice final touch.
Grab this little heater on a free download and stay toasty through the winter months.
Check out more from Moox
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Pianist Alexandra Stréliski Explores Moments of Vulnerability with INSCAPE
“A piano, on its own, is a very vulnerable thing, and I want to share this moment with the listener.”
This honest confession coming from Montreal-based pianist and composer Alexandra Stréliski, commenting on her latest release, and second full length album, INSCAPE. A work that is largely characterized by vulnerability, sincerity and honesty, not only in the medium but also in it’s inspiration and delivery.
The creative medium itself, a piano laid bare, carries with it a kind of intrinsic sincerity. Nothing to hide behind, no overbearing production, nothing competing for your attention. Simply and naturally, Stréliski and her piano.
The inspiration for the album as well carries with it a kind of honest vulnerability.
“To me,” says Stréliski, “Inscape was an existential crisis. A year where everything capsized and I had to go through various interior landscapes – hectic, beautiful and painful at the same time. I found myself in a space filled with grey areas that I didn’t know how to escape.”
The album is a collection of fleeting moments which are as much an internal dialogue as they are meant for a larger audience. Coming to terms with unanswered questions and loose ends, INSCAPE is one part melancholic masterpiece and one part triumphant metamorphosis. A delicate butterfly of rare authenticity within the contemporary music landscape.
Out now from Montreal label ‘Secret City Records’
Grab the release on their website
Hear more from Alexandra Stréliski
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Tokiomi Live from Mutek Montreal
"Howling wolves, wind through the trees and late-night bonfires come in contact with original melodies and crackling radio voices in Tokiomi Tsuta's music, carried by a steady leftfield supply of underwater beats."
Check out Tokiomi's live downtempo set from Mutek Montreal 2017!
Wiklow- Live from Cascadian Connections
A special live set from Montreal based producer and digital artist- @wiklow.
As part of ADSR Collective presents- Cascadian Connections, an East meets West collaborative music showcase. Held on Sept.02.2017 at Artgang Montreal.
Visit his website- michaeldean.ca/
ADSR Radio #21- Friends from Montreal
Listen back to this week's radio show, as we showcase a number of eclectic sounds from Montreal's underground. Hear unreleased material from Wiklow, Fake Electronics, and Atamone, as well as some timeless releases from Hushlamb label project.
Music News- DAAT LVL5 out today
Production duo DAAT has broken the mold once again with their latest sonic excursion. LVL5 features 4 tracks of far left leaning grainy electronic ambiance and analogue structures deeper than an interstellar black hole. Check out the interview we did with the forward thinking production duo last year, and grab the release over on Bleep