Exuviae – Intrinsic Luminance

Now let’s proceed to some scintillating music by Exuviae, who had already been reviewed here. This album is called “Intrinsic Luminance”, and it was released on Endless Ascent label on April of 2009. Generally, energetic mindscapes are very characteristic of Exuviae’s music, and here it is a definite illustration of his ability to draw with sounds. You hear some fluctuations, some rustling of vesicular structures, you cah find various textures – solid and clastic; sounds are both of synthetic and natural origin, and it is hard to guess, how Brooks Rongstad made this music. It is a truly sonic meditation, gripping the listener into its rainbow depths. So, become luminant with Exuviae’s “Intrinsic Luminance”.

Exuviae’s official site

“Intrinsic Luminance” on Endless Ascent label

Bunk Data vs Abre Ojos – Sidereus

Bunk Data and Abre Ojos enriched the Endless Ascent label with new portion of enigmatic cosmic ambient sounds. Their album is called “Sidereus”, and represents, as they put it, “a received unknown binary transmission…”. It is a collaborative work of two musicians – Nathan Larson from the USA, Minnesota
(Bunk Data, and the owner of Dark Winter, Endless Ascent, Wandering Ear labels), and Scott Baker (Abre Ojos), from Melbourne, Australia. From the starting whiffs of the album, you are dissipated by the open-space power of the sounding. You see the pictures of the distant depths of the Universe, with its pulsating flaring starlight, rainbow nebular stains, that give rise to strange feelings of somebody’s presence. Do you feel the flight of the artists’ fantasy? Listening to it, you will get rid of all doubts, concerning the question “Are we alone in the Universe?”. Nathan and Scott in their work cover different phenomena, that could be met in the cosmos: “Long Rivers Of Dust”, which can occur on some planets, “Photon Belt Encounter”, some signals (“1979 digits”). At the end of the album, you will inevitably discover “Terra Nouveau”. So, enjoy the “Sidereus” by Bunk Data and Abre Ojos.

“Sidereus” on Endless Ascent label

Abre Ojos’ official site

Bunk Data official site

Exuviae – Jamais Vu

One day, when surfing in the Internet labels, I found an interesting release on Endless Ascent – “Jamais Vu” by Exuviae, which appear to be the first release on this label. Exuviae is an ambient project, run by Brooks Rongstad, a Minnesota-based electronic musician, and in this album some of his works, recorded between 2002 and 2006 are represented. At first, let’s discuss the term “Jamais Vu”, which entitles the album and the third track. Jamais Vu is a mysterious psychic phenomena, when somebody perceives something familiar to him as unknown and never seen before. It is much more uncommon, than Deja Vu, when you feel like you have already seen something, that you couldn’t see before. I suppose, it is an appropriate theme for an ambient piece, where the author can express these unspeakable impressions. Now, let’s concentrate on Exuviae’s music. The name of the opening track “Doorsway Alight” is like an entry for the listener to the world of the album concept; its mild, slowly streaming sound shines, summoning you to come in. “After The Fact” is a rythmic effervescing ambient piece with croakings against the background of light and airy drone. “Jamais Vu” is the central conceptual track in the album, point of intersection of the rest subconcepts. You can hear some strange tender squeaks, as if it is the sound of low quality, but this illusion is just a nice dressing for the track; the piece is permeated by  the feeling of serenity and contemplation maybe of something new in everyday things, it’s like silent discovery. Then comes “Along The Way”, the track, which resembles a sigh of relief, when one finds himself somewhere in the open field, full of many-coloured flowers and green grass, which sway softly and slowly. “Faces In The Static” – is a thick and saturated drone of a lower tone, in comparison with the previous tracks, which, possibly, describes the observation of surrounding people when the time stops, and you can scrutinize their faces, detecting their thoughts, moods and inner lights. “Answers From Nowhere” may occur to be the expression of a revelation, that suddenly comes to our heads from time to time, when something, that worried us for a long time, becomes clear, when sometning is elucidated without a word from visible environment. It has, like the second track “After The Fact”, a rythmic picture of the sound, but I must say, that this rythm doesn’t have anything common with dance or other ordinary rythms. It is a special ambient rythm, reflecting natural rythms, which, perhaps, won’t make your body dancing, but the mind. “Remainder”, in its philological sense, a synonym for the author’s pseudonym – Exuviae, consists of distant ringing, sitar-like drones, mixed with more moderate sounds. And the worthy finish of the whole album is “How We Are Finite” – almost 20 minutes of affectionate sparkling ambience. Probably, through the concept of this track, Exuviae seeks to show, that there is something in our world, that is unamenable to any explanation by means of our two-dimensional minds, which operate only with binary categories: no-yes, evil-good and so on. There is something beyond all that mental canvases. In whole, “Jamais Vu” is a philosophical and poetic work, but embodied in musical form. So, find something new around you with Exuviae.

Exuviae’s “Jamais Vu” on Endless Ascent label: http://endlessascent.com/ea001.html
Exuviae’s official site: http://www.exuviaemusic.com/

Seetyca – Seetycan (Grue And Bleen)

Almost two and half an hour of wonderful, dense and impressive drones you can find in Seetyca’s double album “Seetycan (Grue And Bleen)”, which was released on Endless Ascent label in December of 2008. In fact, Seetyca is a project from Thuringia, Germany, and the author started his experimenting activity in far 1992. The first part of the double set is called “Grue”, which may be the hybrid of blue and green or grey colors, while the second – “Bleen” may refer to the confluence of blue and green, or black and green. Through this philological innovations, author, perhaps, wanted to depict some sensations, that are located somewhere out of visible, audible and sensible spectra, he presented a new multidimentional rainbow. Really, Seetyca’s music is closely connected with colour, it’s a true example of synesthesia-summoning pieces, which broaden or, probably, elongate the scale of perception. Among other features, I would like to note the atmosphere of relief and serenity of all shades – from silent and temperate to supreme and solemn. More over, the other evident characteristic is the confidence in the author’s music drawing hand – it is a real solid album of the ambient master. So, take a ride on Seetyca’s rainbow.

Seetyca on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/seetyca
Seetyca’s “Seetycan (Grue And Bleen)” on Endless Ascent label: http://endlessascent.com/ea004.html
Seetyca’s official site: http://www.seetyca.org/

Kendall Station – Nebulae And Gridlock

“Nebulae and Gridlock” is the second release on Endless Ascent label; the authorship of the release belongs to Kendall Station, whose album is devoted to a cosmic theme. Lightness and gentleness is the guiding line, that comes through all the tracklist. It is a small science fiction novel about a cosmic travel, narrated through elegant and soft ambience. I should note, that, furthermore, there is a feeling of longing for home, our space home, where it’s good to return to and, relaxed, and lying on the tender carpet of green grass, to watch the starlit sky. This nostalgia is especially conspicuous in the last tracks – “Peaceful Landing” and “Home Coming”, where great, but silent gladness is blooming. As for me, I often dive into delight of this album, full of lucidity, positive emotions and feelings. Unfortunately, information about the author is rather miser, there is almost nothing in the internet, with the exception of some articles about his albums, but this obscurity mustn’t prevent us from enjoying Kendall Station’s “Nebulae And Gridlock”, as the author put his very essence into his work.

Kendall Station’s “Nebulae And Gridlock” on Endless Ascent label: http://www.endlessascent.com/ea002.html
Kendall Station’s albums on Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Kendall+Station

Jarguna – Reflex Of A Reverberation

When I listened to Jarguna’s “Reflex Of A Reverberation”, it seemed to me as if I suddenly got spherical eyesight and became all-seeing. This ambient piece was released on Endless Ascent label and consists of one long track, full of drones, field recordings and other elements of the artist’s imagination. In fact, the music of the album was inspired by observations of images of deserted places, reproduced by satellites, and in the process of such an observation, the author began seeing some abstract forms, pictures of geometrical and fractal nature, that delighted him much. As an addition to the music, there are some artwork – pictures of earth surface, actual and modified. Generally, the whole sonic substance of “Reflex Of A Reverberation” resembles the work of an enourmous consciousness, that could cover our planet. Ringing of wind chimes is like an emergence of ideas, against the phasing background of extensiveness, peace and contemplative solitude. This music enhances a listener’s mind permeability, for him to find new chambers of soul, that could be filled with new enlightening experience. Listening To Jarguna’s new album you can host much bigger inner world. My words may seem high-flown, but it was a real eruption of impressions, that came to me, when I heard the sounds of “Reflex Of A Reverberation”.

Jarguna’s “Reflex Of A Reverberation” on Endless Ascent label website: http://www.endlessascent.com/ea013.html
Jarguna’s official site: http://www.jarguna.com/