.

yui onodera: suisei

moljebka pvlse: driftsond

christopher willits + ryuichi sakamoto: ocean fire

sigur rós: heima

steinbrüchel: basis

new music:

-yui onodera: suisei

2007

so far, one of my favourite discs of 2007

-moljebka pvlse: driftsond

gears of sand, 2007

blissful and melancholic guitar drone composed by mathias josefon.

-christopher willits + ryuichi sakamoto: ocean fire

12k, 2007

willits: guitar, computer and sakamoto: piano, computer. a wonderful disc sound-wise, and graphic-wise (superbly designed by taylor deupree).

-sigur rós: heima

dvd, 2007

some definite problems with editing and camera tricks, but a great film all the same, esp. the intimate acoustic moments and landscape photography.

also includes a track by chris watson from his weather report, and some field-recording work by him (and jana winderen).

-steinbrüchel: basis
room40, 2007
(basis is based on recordings of acoustic instruments. all sounds were processed and layered into compositions by steinbrüchel. through this processing steinbrüchel revealed hidden structures and melodies and isolated them, creating new melodic and organic textures without losing the soul of the original.
the four tracks interlude 1 - 4 are based on guitar recordings from happiness will befall by lawrence english, released on cronica in 2005. these 1 + 2 are also based on guitar recordings, this time taken from ben frost's 'theory of machines', released on bedroom community in 2006. the track falter draws on piano recordings by bernd schurer and was originally presented as a 5.1 surround installation at leerraum in berne, switzerland, in november 2005.)

-phil mouldycliff: written on water
icr, 2007

with 2 very fine tracks including the spirit of place, with manipulated field recordings.

-stephan mathieu: the sad mac
headz, 2004

how did i go so long not hearing this i wonder?, one of his best discs.

-stephen vitiello: bright and dusty things
new albion, 2001

-alio die & yannick dauby: desendre cinq lacs au travers d'une voile
aqua, 1998

-christina kubisch: armonica
semishigure, 2005

-olivia block: change ringing
cut, 2005
combining electronics and acoustic instruments.

-michael cashmore: sleep england

dutro/jnana records, 2006

melodic songs on electric guitar and bass.

-meursalt: sleeping debris
students of decay, 2007
(solo moniker of shaun falconer, a musician based out of glasgow. employing bowed guitars and piano, falconer coaxes frail webs of cascading drones and beautiful swelling timbres into evocative mantras which hang thick in the air like fog.)
not unlike the work of scott tuma, steven r smith, richard skelton, or the blithe sons.

-stars of the lid: carte-de-visite
s/r, 2007
unreleased tour cd

-sylvain chauveau: nuage
type records, 2007

-klimek: dedications
anticipate, 2007

-machinefabriek + leo fabriek: fabriek + fabriek
s/r, 2007

-tenniscoats: tan-tan therapy
hapna, 2007

some fine tracks

-steve roden: four possible landscapes
trente oiseaux, 2000

so strange and delicately made

-francisco lópez: lopez island

elevator bath, 2007

-tim hecker: norberg
room40, 2007

-ben frost: steel wound
room40, 2003/2007

(since his earliest days, ben frost has been fascinated by the cinematic qualities of the guitar. his output to this point has hinted at this, but with steelwound he makes a bold statement of intent. finding his way to a deserted stretch of johanna beach along the great ocean road (victoria, australia) in early 2003 frost set up a remote studio at a derelict cabin overlooking the icy waters of bass strait. with a constant wind flowing off the sea his only companion, frost started work on a series of improvisations that would eventually become steelwound. a few months go by and frost has made his way back to civilization. he begins editing the masses of treated guitar from the johanna beach improvisations and before long a theme takes hold - one that very much reflects the isolation of the environment where the tracks were created. each of the pieces on steelwound is a epic journey, coloured with a deep sense of filmic narrative and suggested dialogues. the textural quality of the works, laced with field recordings and lost vocal fragments, sketches out the emotional soundscapes frost had unwittingly gathered during his time at johanna beach. each piece is a splintered fragment in time - a forgotten memory beautifully rediscovered in a moment of introspection.)