aKido - Gamechanger

In the process of writing the reviews for this blog, I've discovered that often the best music is incredibly hard to describe. Gamechanger is just such an album. As I listen to it, any attempt to define it or make comparisons seems insufficient. I just know it's good. aKido combines intricately sequenced idm-esque beats, electro melodies and a smattering of ethereal vocals with rhythmic guitars and post-rock elements, but in such a way that it transcends any attempt to attribute genres or influences. Brilliantly composed and produced, this album is a must-have for fans of melancholy, emotive electronic music.

hiddenplace music mix 7: Muttley: Stepping Into The Sun

Download mp3 110MB 320kbps

for the next addition to the hiddenplace mix series, a very special guest mix from Muttley of SubVersion. in this mix, as in many of his other mixes, Muttley goes beyond the typical crossfaded playlist and creates what is more of a musical sound collage. ambient, modern classical, electro-acoustic with some unexpected moments.

Muttley writes:
Comfort without coordination levers haphazard states. You can be safe for a short while but then a tornado appears out of nowhere to blow off your roof. Granted, we can have defences to shield us from damage. Nonetheless, ambiguity can fluster. "Stepping Into The Sun" interlocks blind, brazen spurts with the ability to process electronically generated sounds from recognisable phenomena, illuminating some of the capricious invisible forces that impact on it.

To recharge one's batteries, it's advised you listen as if you had a gig buddy, as that's how this came to be. There are lyrics in the tracks - Last Days' "This Is Not An Ending" stops my black clouds descending from the explosive noise of Paul Bradley's "Somatic", and Ulrich Schnauss' "kissing you goodbye" from "Gone Forever" marks a departure from social allegiance.

Walking to and from the city centre, I encounter palpitations which make it hard for me to breathe, whereby when complications pursue my consciousness, I require someone to set me straight when my brain turns inwards on itself. Future outcomes flash across my mind, and certain remove existence, blacking out in image. Rarely are they slowly unfolding, so snap decisions whether not making the moves I envision are right or wrong, causes reservoirs of belittling gesture to flow in multidirectional sprays, culminating with "for no apparent reason" from remembering Busdriver lyrics, or comparable psychoanalytical hinges.

If this summation sounds convoluted, it fits the event scripture of my panic attacks. An online friend from over the Atlantic says she would go out with me if in the area - the nous for this, and the component recontextualised from virtual to physical, moulding my limitations into a dialogue between history and the "now". "Stepping Into The Sun" is just that: a soundtrack I can invest with genuine power and significance, and one I hope buffers your confidence levels in tandem.

tracklist:
01. Craig Armstrong - Delay (from Piano Works)
02. Relmic Statute - A Template For Sand And Forest (from Morning Tapes)
03. Nest - Cad Goddeu (Revised) (from Retold)
04. Bas Van Huizen - Zwembocht (from Ontgalman)
05. Ian Hawgood - Let's Dance Until The Shallows Break (from Wolfskin)
06. Last Days - This Is Not An Ending (from The Safety Of The North)
07. Paul Bradley - Somatic (from Somatic)
08. RST - Tinn Sun II (from Tomorrow's Void)
09. August Stars - Inland Rainfall (from Midwinter)
10. Mister Vapor & Altus - Sparse Reaches (from Falling Out Of Orbit)
11. Bad Company - Bullit Time [stretched] (from Bullit Time)
12. Grouper - Down To The Ocean (from Cover The Windows And The Walls)
13. Relmic Statute - Illustration (from Morning Tapes)
14. P.D Wilder - Purple Brings Out The Green (from F/M)
15. Duncan Ó Ceallaigh - Low Across Dawn Waters (from Distant Voices, Still Lives)
16. Nest - Far From Land (from Retold)
17. Robedoor & Pochaunted - Roman Nose (from Hunted Gathering)
18. Jesu - Storm Comin' On (from Lifeline)
19. Ulrich Schnauss - Gone Forever (from In A Strangely Isolated Place)
20. Tori Amos - Northern Lad (from From The Choirgirl Hotel)
...

hiddenplace music mix 4: lessening

Download mp3 (160kbps, 81MB)
*this mix is currently unavailable for download. contact me if you want to hear it!

i almost didnt post this mix because the VOs ended up a bit noisy & i forgot to mention a couple things, but i decided to put it up anyway because the music really deserves to be heard and i didnt want to keep delaying it.
i actually put together this mix and Pontchartrain at the same time; there was simply too much good music to fit into just one mix. but this is definitely not the 'b-sides' mix, its more of a continuation of the same mood and atmosphere as the previous mix-- dark, quiet, and intensely thoughtful music for the colder days of winter...

playlist:
(00:16) L'Altra - Sleepless Night
(05:45) Nanang Tatang - On Me Forever
(10:14) Mar - Patience
(15:49) Weigl/Hoffmann - Country Lane [apl048]
(22:43) Caroline - Sunrise
(26:32) immanu el - Panda [The Silent Ballet vol. 5]
(33:75) A Northern Chorus - This Open Heart
(42:06) Barzin - Past All Concerns
(47:56) stockfinster. - two great lines of light
(52:55) Cibelle - Phoenix
(58:46) Elysian Fields - Narcosmicoma
(64:09) Gregor Samsa - Lessening
...

hiddenplace music mix 3: pontchartrain

Download mp3 (160kbps, 75MB)
*this mix is currently unavailable for download. contact me if you want to hear it!

this time, an eclectic mix of darker music for autumn and winter..
i've been putting off posting this mix for a while, partly because i hadn't found time to record VOs. so i decided to just post it without any talking, since it seems many people prefer just music anyway.
this mix features some quiet indie rock, some downtempo & triphop sounds, and even some jazzy acoustic pop. something a little different form the electronic music i usually feature...
enjoy!

playlist:
[00:21] Emily Haines - Reading In Bed
[03:06] Kira Lynn Cain - White as a Dove
[06:39] Anna Ternheim - Lover's Dream
[10:32] Björk - I've Seen It All (feat. Thom Yorke)
[15:46] Mika Nakashima - Hitori (endroll ver.)
[20:44] Goldfrapp - Pilots
[25:09] Elsiane - Vaporus
[28:44] Karen Matheson - The Dreaming Sea
[33:19] Jars of Clay - Frail
[40:11] L'altra - There Is No
[44:08] Ida - Moves Through The Air
[49:27] The Cinematic Orchestra - Breathe (live on KEXP)
[54:29] My Brightest Diamond - Goodbye Forever
[58:19] Vienna Teng - Pontchartrain


...

hiddenplace music mp3 mix #1

Download mp3 (160kbps, 54MB)

things have been a little quiet around here lately because the wizards at hiddenplace music have been preparing something really special: the first official hiddenplace music mix.

sometimes simply listening to the music is the best way to discover and share it. i find a lot of my favorite music through podcasts and dj mixes, plus i really enjoy putting together playlists and 'mixtapes.' i hesitate to call this a 'podcast' because that implies that i plan on doing this at a semi-regular basis. unfortunately time and my obsessive-compulsive tendencies dont permit that, but i have several mixes in the works and i plan on putting them out here as often as possible (ie whenever i feel like it).

at hiddenplace music we like free music, so nearly all of the tracks featured on this mix can be downloaded cost- and guilt-free at the links provided. each release represented is full of excellent music and is most definitely worth your time. enjoy the music!

tracklist:

(00:00) hiddenplace intro
(00:19) Makunouchi Bento - Two Mechanical Snowghosts [pj001]
(02:01) My First Trumpet - Takt Short Takt [aer009]
(03:56) Endlos - Ich bin Dur [1bit028] +welcome
(09:31) The Lymbyc Systym - Astrology Days [live 18 Apr 2007]
(14:01) Re'sequence - Interview [es28]
(17:55) Implosion Quintet - For Sesselja [diginet011]
(21:40) Mr Moods - Variations [DBR005]
(25:24) The Incognito Traveller - Chaleur [konfort016]
(29:42) Owltree - Head Swirlin' [lokw-010]
(32:57) Jah Free - beatcontest (amuses-bouches complete album download)
(37:58) Sel/Reechad - Masterplan [iD.037]
(42:01) Saine - Absent Minds [Imagine This] +tracklist

extra: hiddenplace music on solipsistic NATION

Fiktion - Morfint

mournful guitar and gently sequenced electronics are the recipe for the album morfint by swedish musician fiktion aka Gustaf Erik Lundh (available for free download on his website and on Frukt Records). this release is more proof that a simple formula, when well-executed, can be simply sublime. no need for an overly-wordy description here-- this release is best when simply downloaded and enjoyed in peaceful and quiet moments. besides it was already written about in a few other quality music blogs. however, as a service to my own readers, i wanted to make sure it didnt go unnoticed.

El zoológico - The Jungle & The Aquarium

at the beginning of the year, i began to lament the lack of interesting netaudio being released, but in the last few weeks have seen an explosion of potentially good releases. as always, see the 'queue' box to the right of the blog page for a sampling of what sits on my mp3 player awaiting a listen..
today hiddenplace music features the second release from the intriguing new netlabel petite&jolie. a very special double ep, The Jungle & The Aquarium is the first 2 of 4 planned eps from puertorican musician el zoológico. here he presents a challenging and captivating collision of electronic and acoustic sounds, bouncing from playful organic glitchyness, to melancholy indie- and electropop, and of course a heavy dose of petite&jolie's trademark 'cutetronica.' its an eclectic & exotic combination of sounds which shouldnt work, but somehow does. enjoy your tour of the zoo!

Henrik José

sometimes a simple, heartfelt popsong hits you in just the right spot. so it is with the music of Henrik José. for those of you who havent done your homework, Henrik J. provided vocals for what is possibly my all-time favorite netlabel release, I'll Meet You There by ST, in addition to to his other quality electro/idm/demostyle netlabel releases under the name Bliss. i was quite happy to discover recently that his entire catalogue, as well as some quite excellent new songs are available for download in one place on his brand-new webpage (two of which appear on the afore-mentioned Camomille 100 release). Mr José crafts thoughtful, emotive songs using his voice, acoustic guitar and his demoscene-inspired tracking skills. a somewhat unlikely collision of acoustics and 8bit electronics, but one that works beautifully. Swedish electro-pop to brighten your coldest winters...

Camomille 100 - Cycles

hiddenplace music has recently received word that the long-awaited 100th release from the camomille netlabel has been officially released. normally i dont recommend anything without listening to the entire thing first, but with such an impressive array of artists, i know this will be an excellent and fascinating release. a collection of digital artwork has also been included, and along with the 3,5 hrs+ playing time, there is much to explore here. artists included are:
Lackluster, Twerk, Henrik Jose / Bliss, Julien Neto, Khonnor, Ilkae, Talve, Anders Ilar, Hunz, Jemapur, Proswell, Vim, Epoq,ST, Pocka, Troupe, Makunouchi Bento, Tang Kai / Mikael Fyrek, Blisaed / Seathasky, Sense, Transient, Fah, Planet Boelex feat. Lisa's Antenna, Emanuele Errante, Kaneel, Shiftless, The Open Directory Project, Nil, Hofuku Sochi, Kyle Dawkins, Ks, Slash, Muhr, Papercutz, Imtech, Beatslaughter, The Kodama Institute, Mattia Marchi and MigloJE. astute readers might also note my own humble contribution of bizarre flute samples which have been warped and mangled in a most interesting way in a track by abstract ambient maestro Shiftless.
it seems like many netlabels have been holding onto their best material until the end of the year, so, stay tuned and hiddenplace music will provide you with plenty of music to fill your holidays and warm the dark and cold winter days.

petite&jolie - Pantoufle Tagada

a new netlabel has appeared, with a very interesting array of artists contributing to their debut 'various artists' compilation. charmingly named petite&jolie: a place for cute people, and presenting a fascinating collection of electro-acoustic glitch pop and avant-garde sound art, id say the netlabel is off to a very promising start.
the netlabel curator has labeled the style 'cutetronica' which is certainlly fitting, however i found it to be cute in the way the film 'city of lost children' is cute-- there is quite possibly something dark and sinister lurking behind all the major chords, happy chimes and high-pitched voices...

shoutout to INQ for the news on this one

The Silent Ballet

i would like to take a moment to spotlight another interesting compilation series which i stumbled onto a while back: The Silent Ballet compilations, a collaboration from the indie rock website of the same name, and the Lost Children netlabel. breaking the electronic mould of most netlabels, Lost Children features [mostly] instrumental indie/shoegazer/post-rock from a host of bands around the world. there are quite a few gems to be discovered here. unfortunately, Lost Children could use a bit more quality control, as there are some rather awful tracks in the series as well. however, fans of heartfelt soft/loud emotional energy (queue references to bands such as explosions in the sky, mogwai, godspeed you black emperor, m83 etc) will find much to be enjoyed in The Silent Ballet series. in my opinion, the most recent installment of the series is the strongest yet. it starts out slowly, with a very long introduction of two minimal guitar-based ambient tracks. however, in the later tracks the energy slowly builds to the exploding crescendos we expect. in my opinion, many of the tracks never quite reach their full potential-- i am frequently left wanting more, but all in all, the bands and the netlabel show some real promise, and there are some quite breathtaking moments to be enjoyed here.

Noe Venable - The Summer Storm Journals

on the other side of the spectrum of music for autumn, veteran songstress Noe Venable proves that brilliant songwriting and a beautiful, expressive voice never get old. her newest album, 'The Summer Storm Journals' has been stuck in my head ever since it was released earlier this season. even if you are like me and very rarely buy actual cds, i highly recommend adding this album to your collection. along with 'bring me the workhorse' from my brightest diamond, it has become one of my most listened-to releases this year. this is quality music that i believe could appeal to everyone- melancholy without being depressing, dark but hopeful, childlike but not immature, all the while absolutely uncompromising in style, individuality and vision. Noe is kind enough to offer two complete songs for free download on her website. after a few listens, they will most likely be lodged in your head, leaving you with a curious longing to discover more....

Text Adventure - Fantastic Disaster

i wanted to take a few minutes to spotlight one of my all-time favourite netaudio releases - this little gem by the Glascow duo Text Adventure, released on Observatory Online, a now-silent netlable with a short but sweet selection of releases. glitchy 8-bit electronics, acoustic guitars and timid falsetto vocals make up this a magical little trippy acoustic/electropop gem. although this release is a couple years old now, these songs are still constantly stuck in my head.

it has been rumoured that a new full-length album, charmingly titled 'I Believe in Lassies' will be released soon. let us hope that it doesnt get lost in the infinite 'coming soon' category...

ILAD & A Northern Chorus

Tying together topics of the previous few posts (canada and post rock), i just saw an excellent show at The Boot with virginian spazz-jazz-jam-rockers ILAD and canadian post-rockers extrodinare, A Northern Chorus. ANC has been one of my favourite spacey shoegaze-rock bands since the MP3.com days and it was great to see them live again. this time i had my camera and i took a few artsy photos. check out the gallery here. anyway, i highly recommend both these bands, you can check out their websites and myspaces to hear the music. i especially recommend A Northern Chorus' album Bitter Hands Resign. its an excellent album of slow spacey but powerful post-rock jams full of swirling strings, guitars and guy+girl vocals.

Explosions in the Sky live shows

here at hiddenplace music(tm) , were very much into free music, so here's a couple excellent live shows from the aformentioned Explosions in the Sky which are available for free [legal] download right here on the internets.


Live at Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, England
courtesy of the Live Music Archive at archive.org
(these files are in FLAC format, but if you have a new version of winamp you should be able to listen to them)


Live at the 930 Club, Washington DC (opening acts Eluvium and The Paper Chase also available for download)
courtesy of NPR's All Songs Considered

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

i know big epic post-rock isnt everyone's thing, but ive really been digging the newest album from texan lads Explosions in the Sky, All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone. i heard they recorded the tracks on this album live, with no overdubs and minimal editing (i didnt bother to check this fact, but it sounds cool). anyway, its immediately obvious upon listening that each track is precisely planned, endlessly rehearsed, and flawlessly performed - all to great effect. blazing emotional soundscapes brimming with an almost exhausting intensity at once assault and soothe your ear. other long and meaningless descriptive phrases spring into mind, but theres plenty of other blogs and reviews for that....
definitely get your hands on the two-disc 'special edition' with a second disc of remixes. i know, at first i raised my eyebrows at the thought of explosions in the sky remixes, but the ones presented here are quite fascinating in contrast with the album versions. each one is expertly produced, but still very respectful of the emotion and energy of the original - none of these screams 'this is a remix' like so many remixes do. the only one with beats of any sort is the Four Tet remix, a fascinating idm+rock blend which works surprisingly well.
many have hailed this album as Explosions' most mature work yet, and i quite agree. chances are, if youve head of explosions in the sky and liked them at some point, or think you might like them, youll love this album.

My Brightest Diamond - Daytrotter Sessions

and now for something completely different - a few live songs by freaky rocker chick My Brightest Diamond. available for free download at Daytrotter. these songs totally rock my face off. dont forget to check out Daytrotter's archive for lots of other live sessions by other cool indie artists. I had the privilege of seeing My Brightest Diamond opening for The Decemberists earlier this year, and she rocked then too. and btw, her album Bring Me The Workhorse is quite excellent, probably one of my favourites in the genre.