"Illuminating Shadows: Shedir's Ethereal Journey in "Before the Last Light is Blown"

Martina Betti: Illuminating Shadows Through Sonic Landscapes

Hailing from the enchanting island of Sardinia, Martina Betti is the creative genius behind the enigmatic musical entity known as Shedir. Since 2017, Betti has been crafting ambient-oriented compositions that transcend traditional boundaries. Her music delicately dances on the razor's edge between dark, visceral tones and tranquil eno-esque soundscapes, a testament to her ability to evoke emotions through the interplay of sonic elements.

Exploring the Sonic Horizon of Shedir

Shedir's discography serves as a captivating journey through diverse sonic landscapes. Betti's compositions, often inspired by her surroundings in Sardinia, encapsulate a unique blend of industrial echoes and coastal serenity. Ancient chants and prayers from her homeland's rich history weave an ethereal thread into the contemporary tapestry of her music. Shedir's previous releases have laid the groundwork for Betti's distinct approach, carving a niche that eludes easy categorization.

"Before the Last Light is Blown": A Haunting Odyssey

Shedir's third album, "Before the Last Light is Blown," is a testament to Martina Betti's mastery of sonic storytelling. The album resonates with a haunting allure as Betti's dark, viscerally potent ambient compositions unfold within tranquil soundscapes. With the addition of Guido Tabone's saxophone on "Dear Fluent in Wind," the emotional depth of the album is elevated, creating a poignant contrast against the backdrop of Betti's atmospheric textures. Released on July 7, 2023, this album stands as a beacon in the night, guiding listeners through an immersive exploration of emotions and atmospheres. "Before the Last Light is Blown" is more than a collection of tracks; it's an invitation to delve into the intricate interplay between light and darkness, a journey masterfully crafted by Martina Betti's artistic prowess.

Support the album on Bandcamp or stream on Spotify

Sonic Cinema 12- Music videos from ILUITEQ, Tom Gimson, and Jazzanova

This illuminating single is featured on the latest album from Italian experimental duo ILUITEQ. The collaboration between artists Sergio Calzoni and Andrea Bellucci has resulted in the release of The Light Inside, the Dark Outside from n5MD records in Oakland, California. The album features seven celestial, ambient, and cinematic tracks that bring with them the energy of the earth, and every atom within it. “Above, The Sky” features a sound that the potential to transcend listeners into a state of joy and peace, and its accompanying video takes viewers on a tour through the earth’s most magnificent atmospheric scenery from the night sky, to rushing clouds, mountains, and fiery city lights.

Composer Tom Gimson’s new track “Route” takes inspiration from a post-pandemic feeling of movement. Piecing the musical components together, he began with a synth sequence and expanded to include the work of collaborators on the marimba and vibraphone. This song’s innovative use of instrumentation is a preview into his upcoming album, and takes a playful, accelerating approach that truly cuts across boundaries of genre and style. The video, directed by the composer himself, features the musicians’ live setup and gives listeners a chance to witness their artful instrumental direction.

This album, set to release at the end of April, reimagines the iconic sounds of the Strata label. Infusing the legendary sound with their Berlin production style, Jazzanova and DJ Amir put a fresh spin on eleven songs from the label’s inventory, updating the sound with their creative approach. Jazzanova is a constantly evolving music project founded on a love of old records and the fusion of genres. Staying true to their heart as record collectors, they are pulling from the archives, while epitomizing their musical style through this adaptive format.

After a two decade hiatus, vcam announces a return

Pulled back to creation, the experimental artist is reconnecting and looking to new possibilities

Vcam has been away for production for so long that he could be mistaken for a new arrival to the community, recently signed up to the Californian label n5MD. This assumption would land you far from the truth, though with after an extended hiatus of roughly twenty years it’s a mistake you could certainly be forgiven for making. In reality, James Long was developing his experimental electronica project vcam when n5MD was first starting, becoming the first artist to sign to the label and help push it towards its continued success today.

A change in scenery and the priority shifting effects of 2020 brought Long back into the headspace to return to music, and to the platform of minimal melodies he built up for himself. Vcam returned to the scene with a demonstration of the tracks he’d been tinkering together during his absence from the scene.

The first step back is set to be followed by new energy and the products of vcam’s rebuilt studio, in the form of upcoming album Arconide. The collection is expected to drop on December 4th, carrying textured melodies stirred up by manipulated alien beats. Vcam delivers a taster with lead track ‘77’, visceral sound accompanied by flowing overtones.

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The journey continues, with worriedaboutsatan: Dawn

Provided to YouTube by Redeye Worldwide Dawn (Edit) · Worriedaboutsatan Dawn (Edit) ℗ Whipeout Music Released on: 2020-04-07 Artist: Worriedaboutsatan Auto-g...

‘Worriedaboutsatan’ was originally the project of Gavin Miller and Tom Ragsdale, who came together to form the duo back in late 2005. The many and varied influences that affected them managed to find their way into the resulting sound, essentially a vibrant mixture of rock and electronic vitalized with elements of metal, glitch and other genres.

The pair managed to build a commendable discography as their sound developed, illustrating what can be produced through a channelling of motivation and talent. Major changes occurred in mid-2019, when Ragsdale left to focus on solo work. After a brief and uncertain pause, Miller made the decision to maintain the growth of worriedaboutsatan, an aim which has certainly been carried out with success.

Two more albums have now been released, with 2019’s Blind Tiger being the frontrunner. The soul of the band remains, although the sound has shifted to a greater focus on atmosphere, given shape by viscous synth and subtle percussive samples.

Worriedaboutsatan’s 7th album ‘Time Lapse’ has been announced for a release in early May through n5MD. Track one, Dawn, has been made available alongside an ambient edit which clears away the deep 808 kicks to illuminate the wandering guitar line.

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Climbing the peaks of Ocoeur 's Glow

Glow is from Ocoeur's 6th album Everything. Out on Feb 28th

Franck Zaragoza has a long standing relationship with n5MD records, where he has released a steady stream of cinematic palettes of sound under his Ocoeur moniker. Focused, always immersive, visceral long-form ambient and electronica, Zaragoza has developed a back catalogue that has left his distinguished finger print on all that he touches. 

’Glow’ from his sixth studio album ‘Everything’ (releasing Feb 28th) is a track rich in textured off-set rhythms and poised, fragile atmosphere. The opening melody with its deliberate plodding notation gives us a sense of innocence in motion, like a baby taking its first steps. We feel included in something tender but the presence of the glacial pads keeps us from drifting off entirely. Ninety seconds in, naturalistic percussion comes into play, adding some movement that brings us to a heightened sense of place and purpose, which Glow does very well. At it’s peak Glow elevates its sense of innocence to a place of powerful grace and while Zaragoza could have dramatized this easily- he doesn’t, instead he expresses his message with layered subtleties resulting in a pure and steady healing glow.

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Ambient IDM from Dutch duo- Tangent

Dutch production duo Ralph van Reijendam and Robbert Kok craft sonic journeys combining cutting-edge electronics with more traditional musical instruments. Always striving for the pinnacle of sound quality, Ralph and Robbert are constantly pushing their creative boundaries by exploring new and exciting ways of working with sound. 

Ralph van Reijendam graduated from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht with a Bachelor of Arts and Technology in 2007, specializing in post-production audio for film, animation and video games. Since graduating Ralph has worked as a sound designer, creating custom fx and atmospheres, and an audio/visual installation artist, creating live interactive environments utilizing custom built Max/MSP programs he designed himself. 

Robbert Kok, growing up playing in a number of metal bands throughout high school, eventually became the vocalist for the well known Dutch death metal band Disavowed. Active now for nearly two decades, Disavowed and Robbert's various live music experience has undoubtably lent itself well to his electronic projects as well.

Tangent is the hybridization of both Ralph and Robert's creative sensibilities and decades worth of technical musical experience. Lucky for us, the duo have a fresh new album entitled 'Approaching Complexity' slated for release Oct.5 on Oakland, California label N5MD. The opening track 'Confinement' is an 8 minute epic piece full of layered distortion, rich textures, and emotive pads. If this track is any sign of what the full album has in store we are certainly in for a treat!  

Pre-order 'Approaching Complexity' on vinyl, CD, or digital on the N5MD Bandcamp      

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