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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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Because I forgot to do my late night ambient review last night, here’s some emergency 2012 Celer.

This is actually another brand new Celer release, dropped on the 22nd June. It was so new, in fact, that I had to make its own profile on Rate Your Music. I must say I was rather confused initially when I didnt see it there, before I checked the release date on his Bandcamp. You can listen for free on Bandcamp, as well as purchase as a Limited Edition cassette.

It’s slightly alarming to think that Lightness and Irresponsibility is Celer’s 8th album release this year; there are thousands of artists who wont release 8 albums over their entire career. Celer produces music at a terrifying rate, far too fast for anyone to even hope to keep up with. You’d have to be a serious fan to have listened to all 60+ albums they’ve release over the last 6 years. Luckily, most of his/their work is of a similar level of quality, so it is possible to dip in almost anywhere and start listening.

The other 2012 Celer album I reviewed was Evaporate and Wonder, a deliciously delicate, heartbreakingly beautiful release, filled with 40 minutes of shimmering, careful drones. This album is very much in the same vein if not, dare I say it, even quieter. My house in the day isn’t a terribly noisy place (at times), but I’m having to turn my volume slider to maximum to really hear it. Updating the ReplayGain in Foobar is helping give it some extra welly.

“An Unforced Cheerfulness” has already been playing for 18 of its 20 minutes, and I have no idea what I’ve done with that time. It has slowly been building for its entire duration; a sad, thoughtful sound, with brighter drone sequences weaving and unravelling as a deeper, darker, bassier drone begins to emerge in the latter half. It’s a curious piece, unfolding out of air very slowly, its wistful tones bearing an ounce of optimism, a wry smile behind an otherwise unhappy face.

“Involuntary Impromptu” is a different animal; a deep sub-bass permeates the core of this piece, breaking the surface every so often with a rumbling roar. Airy drone fragments dance and float around the cresting bass before growing more isolated and just hanging in the foreground until they’ve run their course. There’s a great deal more activity here, and it’s not submissive either. The bassier, almost orchestral pulses, are big, bold and determined inclusions that mirror the “impromptu” thought process that went into creating them.

Once again, titles and names tell as much of a story as the music itself; there is a childlike innocence and contentedness here, it feels like a burden has been shed and life has gotten more carefree. There is a tinge of sadness in the first track but there’s also an unselfish happiness, followed by a bigger, bolder track than before as our responsibilities are jettisoned and life gets more spontaneous as the world and its possibilities open up before us. It’s quite a protracted way of saying that even though things may look bad in your world right now, the load will eventually lighten, and when it does you’re allowed to be happy and do things that you want to do.

Link

Dying Star was recorded in the fall of 2008, using only a vintage analog synthesizer and mixing board. It was completely improvised, with no overdubs or post-processing. The intention was to produce a completely improvised work while remaining completely pure and secluded, the resulting recording stands as a fading presentation of memory, time, and loss, set against the ending day.

Presented at a low volume, the ideal and intended procedure for listening is with headphones, with the volume set specifically at 80%. Through intimacy, tenderness, and isolation, the resulting imaginings are stately presented, yet consistently withering away; and throughout the duration, energy pushes forward, strains, explodes, but eventually crumbles.

‘We are nothing but a view of the world.’
– Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Hypnotising, confounding, beautiful: Chubby Wolf – Ornitheology

On 8 July—the anniversary of Danielle Baquet-Long’s death—in a rather lovely coincidence, her first posthumous release, Ornitheology, landed on my doormat • That was the standard edition, released in a typically short run of 125 copies by Digitalis—by now, of course, very sold out • Yesterday, the special edition arrived, in an even shorter run of just 21 copies, the cassette housed in a black wallet, replete with pink bow fixed to the front, all made from rather-curious-to-hold-but-very-striking-to-behold latex; designed by fashion’s latex goddess Sophie Richardoz, it gives the release an exotic, sensuous & highly tactile quality • Despite their resurgence in recent times, cassette releases have a tendency to appear less substantial than those on other media, in part due to the (usually) shorter durations they occupy • But Ornitheology is a different entity, its brace of tracks amounting to over 90 minutes of music, a demonstrative statement of intent as well as an article of faith in the cassette medium •

For listeners accustomed to the endlessly new & diverse but ever unified output from Celer, it can feel somewhat difficult to extricate Baquet-Long’s parallel Chubby Wolf project • A simplistic view would be to regard it as a solo extension of Celer’s work—after all, her material obviously carries many of the hallmarks of the established Celer sound • But on both her previous releases—the EP Meandering Pupa & album L’Histoire—a notably different sound, i feel, emerges; one that might be described as more focussed & intense, more austere, & certainly more demanding (which is not to suggest Celer’s music lacks these qualities; far from it) • Indeed, both these releases, with their firm sense of patience & restraint, & the resultant cool, aloof textures, are in fact a world away from most Celer, really akin only to their great anomaly, Sieline • Baquet-Long is clearly an independent force to be reckoned with on her own terms •
Ornitheology, however, is the first Chubby Wolf release to acknowledge & assimilate the warmer musical climes inhabited by Celer; it’s fitting, therefore, that the work is dedicated to husband Will • The latter track, “Phantasmagoria Of Nothingness (Prey To Our Emotions)”, is something of a hybrid; the austerity remains in the narrow dynamic range & minimal activity—exhibited most emphatically in the droning pitch (C) that sits in the foreground for much of the track’s duration • However, this note is drenched in a gentle, drifting fog that prevents it from becoming irritatingly persistent, muting it & causing the surface to ripple & undulate • The effect is disconcerting: too warm to be ascetic, too cool to be ecstatic; the music hypnotises, confounding attempts to ‘place’ it, & the more i’ve listened to it, the more i’ve realised one needs to embrace the uncertainty • i’ll admit i was initially not so keen on this track, but it’s slowly (& completely) won me over, in no small part due to its reluctance to do precisely that •

On the other hand, the first track, “On Burnt, Gauzed Wings”, consciously allows in far greater warmth • At first listen, little is that different: narrow dynamics (if anything, narrower than its successor), slow movement, no extremes (high/low frequencies are entirely absent), but there’s an abundance of richness allowed to flourish here that is nothing short of breathtaking • It’s a richness that manifests itself strongest in a powerful shifting tide of harmonies that reverberate out & around like distant musicians slowly improvising in a vast cathedral • But ultimately, hyperbole & metaphors seem rather redundant in the face of music that’s simply as beautiful as this track is; of course, a great deal of the material issued by Dani & Will could be described in that way, but this really is something else • Anyone familiar with Celer’s 2008 album I Love You So Much I Can’t Even Title This (The Light That Never Goes Out Went Out) will know what i mean about intense beauty; “On Burnt, Gauzed Wings” really is as good as that •

Only a few weeks ago, i was lamenting the fact that, having listened to very many 2010 releases, not one of them had struck me as an unblemished 5-star candidate • Finally, that lament is over; except to say, of course, that there was an unavoidable sadness in listening to such a gorgeous album from one no longer with us • But Danielle Baquet-Long’s music ultimately conveys such a deep-seated elation that tears—even tears of joy—evaporate in its wake • This is a rare, marvellous album, one of the best from one of the best •

5:4 rating: 5/5

http://5-against-4.blogspot.com/2010/07/hypnotising-confounding-beautiful.html