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In Ländern wie Tibet, Bhutan & Nepal drehen sich die Uhren nicht nur aber hauptsächlich aufgrund von Spiritualität wesentlich langsamer, weshalb die hoch zivilisierte westliche Welt nach der Ruhe & Entspannung dieser Länder bzw. Völker giert, die das einstige Ehepaar Danielle Baquet-Long (R.I.P.) & William Thomas Longunter dem Namen CELER in Töne übertrug, welche z.B. “Rags of Contentment” beschert, das 2009 als Download (Bandcamp) und 2012 als limitierte CD (222 Exemplare) über DRONARIVM erschien.

DRONARIVM, ein Sublabel von RADIODRONE RECORDS (oder umgekehrt), wo seit 2012 kontemporäre Ambient Musik das Licht der Welt erblickt, publiziert “Rags Of Contentment” als CD im edel gestalteten A5 Pappcover, wodurch das die tief berührenden Sounds einen ansprechenden Rahmen erhalten.

Danielle Baquet-Long alias CHUBBY WOLF & William Thomas Long teilten nicht nur die Liebe zur Kunst/ Tonkunst, sondern auch die des Reisens, die sie nach Nepal führte, woher die Inspiration zu “Rags Of Contentment” stammt, das soundtechnisch den buddhistischen Gebetsmühlen ähnelt, wodurch Tibeter wie Nepalesen auf dem Pfad der Erleuchtung Unterstützung erlangen.

Gleich den monotonen aber intensiven Sounds der Gebetsmühlen präsentieren CELER zwei überlange Droneschleifen, deren Dichte direkt von Anfang bis Ende ansaugt und weiter über die Spielzeit (knapp 73 Minuten) hinaus nicht mehr loslässt – Wahnsinn! Melodiös monoton beschreibt die zwei “Hochtonschwergewichte” auf “Rags Of Contentment” eindrucksvoll, die bei voller Hingabe in Ekstase versetzen und für wohlig warme Tiefenentspannung sorgen. Auch nach unzähligen Hördurchläufen ergreifen die Tracks ‘Pleased to be in a state of sour Resplendency‘ & ‘Things gone and still here‘ aufgrund ihrer wuchtigen Intensität geschwind, das die Klasse von CELER‘s “Rags Of Contentment” unterstreicht!

Fazit:

Danielle Baquet-Long (R.I.P.) & Will Long alias CELER erschufen mit “Rags Of Contentment” ein  zeitloses Meisterwerk, dessen Intensität/ Dichte „überrollt“ & entspannt – meine absolute Empfehlung! PS: Erstaunlich welche Mengen an großartigem Output das kreative Ehepaar Long in seiner gemeinsamen Zeit “zusammenschraubte”, als wenn sie eine Ahnung gehabt hätten.

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The debut release by Russian ambient imprint Dronarivm is a compact disc re-issue of Celer’s limited-edition cassette Rags of Contentment. They’ve taken pains to showcase Celer at its best in a brightly-illustrated, elongated, three-panelled foldout postcard designed by Rutger Zuydervelt (aka Machinefabriek, who recently released a set of “postcards” with Will Long, live improvisations sent from a tour of the Lowlands), and adorned with the late Danielle Baquet-Long’s accomplished photography.

For a duo whose work could hardly be called prolix, “Pleased to Be in a State of Sour Resplendency” is particularly stripped and minimal. Their sublime drones are typically constructed layer upon layer but both thirty-odd minute tracks on ‘Rags of Contentment’ waft like the faintest, steady breeze, not even enough to rustle a blade of grass. Gradual change in timbre and temperature are more evident on “Things Gone and Still Here,” but just barely so.

Ragas of calm, resignation to luscious ennui and irrepressible resolve. The record apparently brings to mind Nepal and Eno’s Discreet Music for Will Long, and a night spent outdoors between sundown and darkness in Santa Ana, just being there. Carried away by the big meaningful.

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Ad arricchire l’infinita mole delle uscite di Celercontribuisce da ultimo la neonata etichetta russa Dronarivm, che pubblica per la prima volta in cd – in una curata edizione di 222 copie – le due tracce di “Rags Of Contenment”, originariamente realizzato su cassetta da Digitalis nel 2010.

Come capita quasi sempre con Will Thomas Long, le due composizioni della durata di circa trentacinque minuti l’una costituiscono cartoline di viaggi ed esperienze personali, delle quali provano a cristallizzare sensazioni e ricordi. L’uniformità della luce di fotografie scattate in Nepal si trasforma nella stasi in lentissimo innalzamento di “Pleased To Be In A State Of Sour Resplendency”, mentre la vastità degli spazi attraversati da una freeway californiana ricorre nelle note d’organo prolungate in un’ipnosi infinita di “Things Gone And Still Here”.

Sullo sfondo, come sempre, resta l’inestricabile nostalgia di Long, sublimata ancora una volta nel tentativo di fermare il corso del tempo, alla ricerca di istanti ed emozioni che acquistano senso proprio nella loro fugacità. Del resto, non risiede forse nella materializzazione di moti d’animo sub-liminali, il senso più profondo di tanta musica ambient-drone?

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In a sense, Epicentral Examples Of The More Or Less feels like Will Long lifting the ambient veil just a tiny bit. Tightrope was the last Celer release to grace ATTN’s review pages, consisting of 24 tracks stacked and assembled into a solitary 70-minute work – an eclectic palette of sound sources (crackling fires, medicine drip buzzers, the eating of ice) melted down into a mercurial ball of drone inspired by a recent trip to Tokyo, turning a set of distinctive memories into a hazy swirl of lost voices and pulsing colours, like the words of a travel diary condensed into one fluid sigh. With Epicentral…, movements between time and location are granted distinction, and the listener can feel their sonic environment undergoing drastic mutations during the cross fades from one section to the next: the sound of choral voices whizzing through a concrete underpass becomes an excitable chatter of laughing voices lost within traffic noise, which in turn finds itself encased within a murky, somewhat ominous synthesiser chord trapped with a rising, falling tidal exchange.

If Tightrope was the sense of collapsing completely into the subconscious, Epicentral… consists of momentary lapses and sudden awakenings from dream state. Much of the material here follows a track that will no doubt ring familiar for Celer frequenters, with thick washes of reverberant synthesiser undergoing constant, steady tonal rotations – an ambient cradle of sorts, rocking the listener back and forth until a blissful calm begins to seep into the pores. But for those listeners that have yet to hear Long emerge in sharp, dazzling detail in the foreground, many sections of Epicentral… can be somewhat startling. The opening moves of the third piece offer a perfect example: just as a melancholic stream of murky drone slips into silence, a warbling, shimmering chord progression comes shoots out of it, wafting a bright and brash synthesiser tone right into the face of the unexpecting listener. Even the most blunt transitions are never carelessly choreographed though, and while modulating stasis is already well documented as one of Celer’s core strengths, it’s fantastic to see that Long is equally as capable when working with a more diverse set of sound blocks.

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Zanim zapoznałem się z konceptem graficznym, jak i muzycznymi intencjami, kryjącymi się za materiałem „Rags of Contentment”, rozpłynąłem się relaksacyjnie wśród wolno sączących się dźwięków.

Piątkowy wieczór, mokre ulice oraz niskie ciśnienie unosiły mnie z delikatnie wibrującymi tonami poprzez puste przestrzenie, niedoświetlone aleje i choć upstrzone wilgocią dźwięków, to sam pozostawałem suchy, a moje uszy doznawały uczucia świeżości i miękkości.

Celer z pewnością jest znany niejednemu smakoszowi ambientowych dźwięków. Will Long, który obecnie tworzy w Tokio, rozpoczął swoją działalność w 2005 roku, nagrywając do tej pory wiele albumów oraz mniejszych wydawnictw dla wszelkiego rodzaju wytwórni. „Rags of Contentment” ukazało się jako inauguracyjna płyta dla moskiewskiego labelu Dronarvim. Materiał opatrzony jest zdjęciami Danielle Baquet-Long, z którą przez długi czas współpracował podczas kreacji muzyki Will. Pełne koloru i ciepła zdjęcia raportują jej pobyt w Nepalu.

Patrząc na pełne spokoju, wewnętrznej harmonii fotografie ludzi i krajobrazu, przyszło mi do głowy jak bardzo odmiennie zinterpretowałem przeciekające z głośników tony. W tym momencie najlepiej pasują słowa Willa – „Pamiętam zdjęcia i negatywy spalonej słońcem ziemi Nepalu porozrzucane po podłodze, notatniki zapisane bez spójnej myśli, wydające się całkowicie puste, a wieczorne światła na zewnątrz nigdy nie wydawały się ciemniejsze…”.

Dwie kompozycje, które budują ponad 70 minut muzyki są pełne wygaszenia, potulnej, nawet rzekłbym słodkiej muzyki. Pomimo, że oba utwory są do siebie zbieżne, charakteryzują się odmiennym sposobem kontemplacji dźwięku. „Pleased To Be In A State Of Sour Resplendency” to powolny film, ukazujący soniczne przemijanie. Pojawiające się światła niemych samochodów, zanikają delikatnym drone, jakby nieśmiale przemykając przez statyczny, lekko drżący muzyczny krajobraz. Jeszcze przyjemniejszy w odborze wydaje się „Things Gone And Still Here”. Nastrój tej kompozycji również rozwija się powoli, jednak jest cieplejszy, niekiedy bardzo intensywnie wibrując w naszych uszach. Muzyka oddycha w różnym tempie i głebokości dźwięku, co chwila racząc nas iluzją słyszalnej w oddali melodii.

Kiedy nie ma narracji i wydaje się nie mieć końca, powoli, bez pożegnania dźwięk zanika, rozpływa się w serdecznie nastrojonej ciszy. Podczas okresu inspiracji do nagrania tego materiału Willowi towarzyszyła płyta „Discret Music” autorstwa Briana Eno. Nie sposób nie dostrzec równoległości w strumieniu niniejszej płyty. Celer po raz kolejny wyemitował bardzo dobrej jakości ambient, dając jednocześnie interesujący start nowej wytwórni.

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Every release of “Celer”, no matter if it is new material or, as in this particular case, a reissue (“Rags Of Contentment” was produced two years ago as a limited edition cassette), is introduced with a short story from Will Long. It is even more likely a stream of consciousness inspired by recollections of things and people that surrounded musicians when they worked on one or another album. This CD is supplemented by pictures from Nepal which Danielle Long took when she travelled around the country: Apparently, serious faces of those who live on top of the mountains and roofs of temples that lean on the sky are to sensitize a listener to a well-defined “exotic” mood, but a few phrases from Will himself, as currently one and only member of the project, drastically changes this mood. Will projects night silence of Santa Ana outskirts, a car where Brian Eno’s CDs are played, and black night cloth that is ripped occasionally by only bright flashes of passing motors. And you know what? It is a perfect description of “Rags Of Contentment”. Night, flashes, space filled with music that flows through a half-open window and disappears into silence…and probably a stack of those pictures that help to refresh recollections and day-dream a little, while gradually drowning oneself in tired half-slumber. This half-slumber is the ideal state for listening to “Celer”, and it is caused by this music too.

“Pleased To Be In A State Of Sour Resplendency” represents thirty seven minutes of quiet sounds which seem to be smoothly swimming past you at a distance, of trembling and vibrant sounds in the night cool air which overlap each other and equally slowly move apart. It is an acoustic imitation of car lights, fading in the steamy window like a flicker which dies out slowly and which for a sleepy person seems to be eternal, frozen in time. “Things Gone And Still Here”, a meditation on things gone and still ongoing here and now, develops this mood, turning with exemplary minimalism the predecessor’s sounds which are already unhurried into vanishing, wearing thin pieces of some inidentified melody, and if you want you can hear sad and even dramatic notes in it, or is it your own assumption in an effort to fill lacunas of this narrative with no beginning and end?

“Rags Of Contentment” is “another” album of «Celer», another long journey through the womb of night, through memory, through blurred dozy phantoms and vague evanescent silhouettes. Very quiet, even intimate and definitely beautiful music.

Created by Celer (Will Long) and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt) in Tokyo and Rotterdam in June 2012, Hei / Sou brings to a close the duo’s trilogy of seven-inch collaborations. As with the two previous singles, Maastunnel / Mt. Mitake and Numa / Penarie, the release comes with two videos by Marco Douma and is available in a physical edition of 250 numbered copies (downloads also are available of all three releases).

The single’s two pieces are detail-packed microcosms of ambient-drone activity. “Hei” begins with ringing cymbal accents that are quickly joined by burbling synthesizers and electronic atmospheres before the material decompresses to form a becalmed, slow-motion stream of glittering flourishes. Slightly more sedate by comparison, “Sou” scatters micro-flickers of percussive rattlings alongside a central drone until swirls threaten to combust during the piece’s late stages. The video for “Hei” shows an uninterrupted flow of hazy images of sunlight and shadow, with the setting (or rising) sun bleeding through abstract silhouettes formed by what appear to be trees and fences. The treatment for “Sou” adopts a more abstract character, with nary a real-world element displayed within Douma’s blurred scrim of silvery textures and criss-crossing patterns.

One of the most appealing things about the Celer-Machinefabriek collaboration is that it brings out compelling sides of both participants and broadens out their respective sound-worlds in surprising and unexpected manner. Given that each of the singles totals about ten minutes in duration, one imagines that a full-length CD document of the collaborative project might conceivably pair the three singles with a half-hour piece taken from their live concerts. Regardless, it’d be a shame to see such a fruitful collaboration come to an end with the release of this third single.

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Northern Twilights, a new Ireland-based tape/zine label, is quick to impress with fresh sounds from Celer.  Will Long’s steady stream of consistent drones continues here with the same level of beauty and melancholy you’ve come to expect from the project.  Two side-long tracks perpetuate Celer’s perfected drift here, weightlessly skimming a placid body icy warmth. Long’s continuation of Celer has only cemented the project’s ability to juxtapose light and dark, cold and warmth, and mourning and contentment.  It’s wholly emotive; overwrought in a good way.

“Walking Out the Latency” carries the first side with long-form drones of looping melancholy.  Almost like Disintegration Loops but with high-quality tapes, the piece cycles through seemingly without origin or interference, steadily meandering through space and unencumbered by edits or thought.  The effortless production gives a deeply meditative quality that would be lost with any sonic interruption.  “Shift Opportunities” is a bit darker than “Walking…,” with a gauzy haze enveloping the distant drones.  The piece’s effervescence plays the perfect compliment to the A-side.

Bonus points too for Long’s wordplay with his titling.  There’s a sense of humor that sifts out of Celer’s song and release titles, mixing deep or dramatic concepts with everyday banalities.

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Каждый выходящий релиз «Celer», будь то новый материал или, как в данном случае, переиздание («Rags Of Contentment» выходил два года назад на кассете очень лимитированным тиражом), Уилл Лонг предваряет небольшим рассказом, скорее даже, потоком сознания, вдохновленным воспоминаниями о том времени, когда создавался тот или иной альбом, о вещах и людях, окружавших музыкантов в тот момент. Этот диск оформлен фотографиями из Непала, которые сделала Дениэль Лонг, путешествуя по этой стране – видимо, серьезные лица обитателей горных вершин и крыши храмов, упирающиеся в небо, должны настроить слушателя на вполне определенное «экзотическое» настроение, но сам Уилл, как ныне единоличный участник проекта, несколькими предложениями этот настрой меняет коренным образом, мысленно переносясь в ночную тишину пригорода Санта-Анны, в машину, где играют диски Брайана Ино, и где черное полотно ночи вскрывают лишь яркие вспышки редко проезжающих машин. И знаете что? Это отличное описание для «Rags Of Contentment». Ночь, вспышки, пространство, наполненное музыкой, льющейся в приоткрытое окно растворяющимся в тишине потоком…и, быть может, стопка тех самых фото, помогающих оживить воспоминания и немного пофантазировать, постепенно проваливаясь в усталую полудрему. Эта полудрема – идеальное состояние для прослушивания музыки «Celer», этой же музыкой и порожденное.

«Pleased To Be In A State Of Sour Resplendency» – тридцать семь минут тихих, плавно проплывающих где-то в отдалении звуков, подрагивающих и резонирующих в ночном прохладном воздухе, наплывающих друг на друга и так же медленно расходящихся в сторону. Это звуковое воплощение огней машин, расплывающихся ночью в запотевшем окне медленно гаснущей вспышкой, кажущейся сонному человеку почти что вечной, застывшей во времени. «Things Gone And Still Here», размышление об ушедших, но все еще пребывающих здесь и сейчас вещах, развивает эти настроения, с эталонным минимализмом превращая и без того неторопливые звуки предшественника в медленно тающие, истончающиеся кусочки одной неопознанной мелодии, в которой при желании можно услышать печальные и даже драматические нотки – или это мозг «додумывает», заполняя лакуны этого повествования без начала и конца?

«Rags Of Contentment» – «еще один» альбом «Celer», еще одно долгое путешествие сквозь ночь, сквозь память, сквозь неясные дремотные видения и нечеткие тающие силуэты. Очень тихая, можно сказать, даже интимная и, безусловно, красивая музыка.

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I’m rather late with my review, but here it is, the final installment of the transatlantic EP triptych created by Ambient musicians Will Long aka Celer who is usually hailing from either Huntington Beach, California, or Tokyo, and Rotterdam-based designer and Ambient fellow Rutger Zuydervelt aka Machinefabriek, who also gave me the opportunity to write this review by providing a digital copy. After the 7″ outputs Maastunnel/Mt. Mitake and Numa/Penarie, the duo returns for their final release, at least for the time being, as I cannot and won’t imagine an ultimate music-related farewell. The two compositions Hei and Sou unsurprisingly make up the Hei/Sou 7″ and are accompanied by two meandering, ever so slowly evolving and morphing music videos by Marco Douma. The vinyl is packed in Zuydervelt’s aesthetically gorgeous montage of Far Eastern postcards whose multiple, positively kitschy landmarks are beautifully layered; even if I just look at the pixels, I bathe in retro rivers. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Exotica music and the colorful U.S. postcard designs of the 50’s and 60’s, so the artwork does probably speak a lot more to me than anyone else, although its lushness is obvious from the get-go, right after the first glimpse. And look at my header image and the contours of that mountain, and then back to the same mountain on the Hei/Sou artwork – zing! What counts at the end of the day, however, is the music, and Celer & Machinefabriek don’t disappoint with the last part of their EP series. The settings are humble enough: Hei and Sou have the exact same length of 4 minutes and 48 seconds. Both can be heard in full at either the Hei/Sou section of Machinefabriek’s Bandcamp page or the duo’s Soundcloud page. Described on the latter page as “the most coherent, rounded off tracks by the duo so far,” let’s take a closer look at this auspicious remark by gazing at the ambience of both compositions.

Hei launches with the electronic equivalent of a Chinese temple gong, although it’s not the darkly droning clang you’re probably having in mind, but the Glitch-infused gelid kind with quickly pulsating icy particles. These permanent, highly metallic eruptions are accompanied by both a 16-note loop full of oxymoronic quirky deepness and aquatic dryness as well as a majestically horn-like drone that seems to be released from far atop a mountain. The celestial ethereality of additional synth washes boosts the dreaminess of an otherwise lively setup chock-full of purposefully counterintuitive ingredients. It is only after about 90 seconds that a tranquilizing calm takes over, augmenting the rapture of the aural diorama. Glacial bells of an electric piano, fragile synth fragments and carefully stereo-panned static noises of the galactic kind altogether inject a cozy warmth through every pore of the arrangement, even though each sound would be frosty in its isolated form. It is this state of solemnity that makes Hei so grand. I link this very part to the cover artwork of the 7″ release. The music seems to depict this scenery, although I don’t know what was created first: the music or the montage of the front artwork. The electric piano droplets also seem to inherit a few tonalities and tone sequences that are typically linked to China from an Occidental point of view. This beautiful melody is further mollified with the help of bass drones. The thermal heat they’re providing works great in juxtaposition to the rising cymbals and the warped bird-resembling laser sounds. The song ends rather abruptly. It fades out properly, but once the listener has soaked in the phantasmagoria and peacefulness, Hei is closing the doors. It’s a terrific song, almost progressive in its development, although the term progression is quite problematic in music reviews, as it describes an obvious state of affairs in Ambient music. But I feel the need to use it nonetheless, all the more so as Celer & Machinefabriek have this song jam-packed with particles, pulses and fragments that would’ve made a great track of 10 minutes runtime. That Hei doesn’t even crack the five-minute-mark is sad, though not devastating. It paints a diverse yet harmonious aura, and it is only during the end that this gem feels a little bit rushed. Since the flow is so entrancing, one doesn’t want to leave. In short, Hei is a superbly mellifluous Ambient track that creates warmth through Glitch ingredients. Yep, you’ve read that correctly: warm Glitch particles. Soon to be patented?

Sou is keen on the pulse side and keeps on residing in tropical territories. Using a weirdly chopped analogue loop as its point of departure which distantly reminds of phone dialing tones, soon enough an ecclesial synth mixture is added that comprises of traversing organ layers, a wandering Dub bass and a piercing high-region sparkle that coruscates organically. The warmth and inviting friendliness are incredible, and as if the duo wants to avoid a simple churchly Drone composition, Long and Zuydervelt add looped cascades of glittering bells whose plasticity and different phases remind ever so slightly on hooks and synth riffs used in House or Trance songs. It’s hooks like these that start as little humble ornaments, only to grow and take over a whole track. This doesn’t happen on Sou, for their mollifying iridescence is perfectly embedded in-between the little alcoves which occur due to the wave-like nature of the organ layers. They swell and fall and rise again. Once this particular hook gets quieter and is prepared for a slow fade-out, Celer & Machinefabriek add further curlicues to the mix, and this time they are more akin to the Clicks & Cuts or Microhouse movement than the Glitch formula: gently crackling pulses and artificial wind gusts waft around the nucleus of Sou which then ends on a deep belly-massaging bass drone. In comparison to Hei, this composition is warmer and fuller right from the start, as the churchly texture of the organs allows a glint of opulence to enter this EP, but it doesn’t reach the former’s blissful superstructure of endorphin-firing grandeur. One track has to win, and to my ears, it is Hei, but Sou is intriguing and saccharine as well due to the reduced usage of potentially harsh sound effects.

What a great way to end the triptych! Both Hei and Sou are overly positive and swirl in close proximity to the established Pop Ambient formula, but retain the microscopic dissonances and cacophonies of the Glitch and Clicks & Cuts genres without ever succumbing to the rules and conventions of either. Hei/Sou is a proper Ambient duo without distracting beats or convoluted percussion sections. It is all about the shimmering beauty of synthesized structures. Hei is the stronger take in my humble opinion due to its sumptuous qualities, the greater pool of synthetic instruments and the development of various ideas and phases – all in less than five minutes. What sounds like a crammed, overly bustling vignette on the pixels of your reading device is in fact a harmonious, well rounded track, as promised in the track description the duo provides. Sou is a few degrees warmer and at the same time more intimate. It doesn’t depict the open wideness due to its focus on ecclesial structures, the deep bass layers and slowly mendering organ melodies. Both tracks are great examples of vivid Ambient music. Considering the harsher, more intimidating and electrically buzzing realms of Machinefabriek’s latest release Stroomtoon (2012), the cozy synth washes of Hei/Sou are all the more surprising and can successfully be linked to Celer’s anodyne sedative Lightness And Irresponsibility (released in 2012 as well). Together with the stunning artwork and slowly morphing videos by Marco Douma, this is a great final EP and available in all big digital music stores and in a strictly limited 7″ edition of 250 copies.

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