Official music video for Blockhead’s ‘The Music Scene’.

An animated mind melt into a post human New York where TV and animals rule. All cast to the sincerely melodic soul of Blockhead’s ‘The Music Scene.’

Directimated by A.F.Schepperd
Commissioned by Ninjatune Records
Music by Blockhead

spotted at Flyer Design Goodness

As a huge fan of Theo Ellsworth, this animation immediately caught my interest. I absolutely love that surreal, hyper-detailed, doodle/stream-of-consciousness inspired illustration style, and Malcolm Sutherland has taken it to another level by bring it to life in this lovely animation. Enjoy!

When a hungry astronomer falls asleep while working on a problem, he discovers a solution not in outer space, but in the surreal food-chain of his subconscious mind. An animated film by Malcolm Sutherland, with sound by Leon Lo. Made in 2009. For more information or DVD purchases please visit animalcolm.com/theastronomersdream

From http://vimeo.com/10692284:

ENVISION : Step into the sensory box. Sous ce nom se cache l’expérience immersive offerte par ALCATEL-LUCENT à ses clients lors du dernier Mobile World Congress. Une expérience à base de vidéo mapping conçue par l’agence SUPERBIEN et le département New Media de l’Agence \Auditoire. Le public était invité à entrer dans un cube et à découvrir une vision artistique de la tagline de l’événement : Transforming the mobile experience.

Google Translation:

ENVISION: Step into the sensory box. Under this name hides the immersive experience offered by Alcatel-Lucent to its customers at the last Mobile World Congress. An experience-based video mapping designed by the agency and the Department SUPERBIEN New Media Agency \ Auditorium. The public was invited into a cube and discover an artistic vision of the tagline of the event: Transforming the mobile experience.

First up is a birthday celebration at Waid’s that has smartly booked me, Coral, and Amanita to provide the groovy beats. It’s open to the public and I open the evening at 10, so come a little early and don’t forget your dancing shoes! The cover is $5-10.

Secondly, but certainly not lastly, is the Ambire Linearis finally at Space in Greenwood. Live ambient goodness will be provided by Gel-Sol, Carl Sagan’s Ghost, and some other fine folks. Full details can be found here. They don’t say in the post, but the past shows ahve been only $5 at the door, so I’m assuming this will be as well. The Ambire Linearis shows have all been excellent, and Space is a perfect venue for this type of show. I was extra excited to catch this one as I’m a big fan of both Gel-Sol and Carl Sagan’s Ghost, but silly me forgot what night this was on when accepting the booking for the birthday party. Bummer….

Here’s a little preview of the set Carl Sagan’s Ghost has been preparing for tonight:

Download :: Leave Trace & John Ames - Live at Kinetic 4 / Chillography 204

This set was recorded live in the in Chillography Downtempo Dinosaur room at Kinetic 4 at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, WA on April 3, 2010. John and I performed under the short-lived name of “A Delicate Moment”, which was quickly killed for being at bit too precious of a name. Band names are hard! Beats and textures by me, Leave Trace, and cello by John Ames.

And here’s some video of the performance:

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Tons of festival and video info can be found at http://vimeo.com/8458060.

The official OZORA Festival 2009 Video created by Pumpui (www.pumpui.com). 1 hour long music video with 21 mindblowing tracks from well know artists.

tracklist:

Aes Dana – Leylines (Ultimae Rec. 2009)
Hang-drum live opening session performed by Norbert Pável and Christian Amin Varkonyi
Juno Reactor – Mona Lisa Overdrive v2 (Metropolis Rec. 2004)
Solar Fields – Good Times (Ultimae Rec. 2005)
Echotek – Don’t Be (Yoyo Rec. 2006)
Andromeda – Waterworld (Soul Surfer remix) (Yellow Sunshine Explosion Rec. 2005)
Liquid Soul – Prophecy (Yellow Sunshine Explosion Rec. 2008)
Vibrasphere – In control (Tribal Vision Rec. 2007)
Shpongle – The Stamen of the Shamen (Twisted Rec. 2005)
Electric Universe – Silence in Action (Electric Universe Rec. 2008)
Hyper Frequencies – Twisted Latitude (Syncronize Rec. 2007)
Pleadians – Vimana Pt 2 (Harmonia Rec. 2006)
Logic Bomb – Sonic Algebra (Solstice Rec. 2007)
Tristan – Terrordactyl (Nano Rec. 2007)
Man With No Name – Teleport (original mix) (Dragonfly Rec. 2000)
Hallucinogen – Deranger (Twisted Rec. 1996)
Entheogenic – Aranyanyara (Chillcode Rec. 2005)
Carbon Based Lifeforms – Photosynthesis (Ultimae Rec. 2006)
Allaby – Aurorae (Neurobiotic Rec. 2006)
Even11 – All night long (Unreleased)
Atmos – Twin Reaction (Iboga Rec, 2009)
Vibrasphere – Breathing Space (Tribal Vision Rec. 2008)

Check out this teaser for “Go Quiet”, a film to included in the limited & digital special editions of his upcoming album “Go”.

“the concept behind ‘go quiet’ was simple: it’s new year’s day in reykjavík, and jónsi awakens to a trashed house in the wake of his party. he avoids cleaning up and instead procrastinates by playing songs that reflect the night before, the bittersweetness of new year, and the melancholy of a year gone by” – director dean deblois.

via Synthtopia

Younger Brother is hard at work on their next album. I’m a huge fan of both of their previous full lengths, but their most recent release, Last Days of Gravity, is especially good. Another Younger Brother album on the horizon is definitely something to look forward to.

Spotted at Livepa blog.

Here’s the interview from Gas:

Good news. Paul Frankland is re-releasing his Woob project from his days on the Emit record label. I still remember hearing its cool sounds wafting through the Square Dance offices (recording studio) whilst I was editing my Gas album.

It was the first solo artist album on Emit, and immediately on release in 1994 it was praised by critics and public. It has since become much sought after, fetching high prices secondhand.

I spoke to Paul about the album and his memories about recording it.

MAT JARVIS: What are you re-releasing and when will they be available?

PAUL FRANKLAND: The first Woob album (Woob 1194) will be available worldwide on iTunes by the end of December, and includes a minimalist booklet.

EP1 consisting of some classic, hard to find tracks is available now for a name-your-own-price, from free! – here

Odonna (Bells mix) edit, on download, get it here or on Amazon. later on iTunes.

There will be a brand new 10 minute track available for download on 1.1.10.

MAT: Which are your favourite tracks on the album?

PAUL: Odonna/Strange Air. I’m fond of them all though.

MJ: Most of the tracks are ten minutes or longer, was this a conscious decision to make lengthy tracks, or did they just happen?

PF:The way I wrote the tracks back then, was like a live performance and so I never heard the track complete or knew the length till it was over, but yes it was a conscious decision, although 25 minutes into mixing ‘On Earth’ there was a heart pounding moment when I improvised a synth section. Its probably my favorite bit of the whole album now though.

What were you trying to create when you started writing the album, and did it turn out as you first envisioned?

I tried to create an album with a loose narrative that guides the listener’s mind through different environments. I also wanted the LP to sound as organic as possible without any too thin or too electronic sounding synths.

What was the process for writing the album?

I had an Atari ST running Sequencer One plus, an Akai s950, Gem s2, a boss delay pedal, home made reverb, tape deck, ghetto-blaster, video recorder and a DAT machine. I made rough sets of each track, then took everything with me into the studio and finished off the tracks using the extra equipment available. Every track was mixed and performed live, none were edited down.

How much use did you make of the Roland RSS 3D processor?

Ha- yeah that was massive and expensive and we did use it on every track but it was pretty limited and was only of real use on percussion tracks to add an extra dimension. Still, it must have had some lasting effect on me as around 10 years ago I was given a cut-down rack version as a present, and I am using it on some of the new material.

What is your one memory of your time on the Emit label?

I remember the first time I stepped into the live room at Square Centre studios – it was a vast, open space with a control room overlooking around 15 foot above.

And, what is a Woob? Wuub?

Woob was a made up word. that sounded unique.
Wuub is a hybrid of woob and dub.

What was the thinking behind choosing penguins for the cover?

The label managers (Chris & Dave) said to me that they would really like to use Penguins for the cover and what did I think. I’d just written the track Emperor and was going to suggest the same. It was a very strange coincidence

Thanks Paul, and good luck with the re-releases and new Woob tracks. Here are the Woob releases available now…
EP1 – visit…
Odonna (Bells mix) – visit…
And Later releases…
Woob 1194 (late December on iTunes)
Brand new track on 1|1|10.

Spotted on Synthtopia.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, you’ll find me at this year’s installment Seacompression, the Northwest’s regional Burning Man decompression party. If you’ve never been, it’s like taking 3 square blocks of Burning Man and cramming it into a 25,000 sq ft warehouse. In a nutshell, it’s awesome and quite unlike any other party in the entire Northwest. Check out this floor plan to get a preview of the craziness ahead.

In the past I’ve DJed at one of the dance stages, but this year I’ll be keeping it mellow in the sublime H’Art Center chillout dome. This was by far my favorite part about last year’s party, so I’m super stoked to have been invited to play some mellow beats there this time around.

Full event details are here.

Here’s a short, fun video log from Seacomp 2007:

I’ve had the music of The Sight Below on continuous loop all morning, and it has been the perfect companion to the gray drizzly sky outside my window. The bus ride to work this morning was especially dreary, with the Space Needle and downtown just barely peeking through the haze, and it was matched perfectly by the beautiful melancholic guitarscapes and subtle back beats. At times his sound is very reminiscent of Sigor Rós’ more ambient moments, and his bowed guitar style is probably responsible for some of that similarity.

For a sample, be sure to check out “No Place for Us,” a free EP download from Ghostly International. If that floats your boat, then you can’t go wrong with picking up last year’s full length LP, “Glider,” and the recently released “Murmur EP.”

If you like this sort of minimal and moody ambient techno, be sure to also check out Yagya’s “Rigning” album. It’s another stunning example of the genre.

So cool. Check out the Ekdahl Moisturizer. It’s a spring reverb with exposed springs, which means that while it can be used as a traditional spring reverb by passing audio signals through the springs, you can also stroke, pluck, and fiddle with the exposed springs to create liquidy, bouncy audio goodness. If you are looking for a unique analog sound, for only $300 this unique effect/instrument would be a fine addition to your sonic arsenal. More info about the unit can be found here.

Another fantastic Chillography come and gone. Music-wise, this may have been one of my favorites yet, with Eckoe opening with his perfect blend of psychill, followed by Kalpataru Tree’s siiiiiick dubby goodness, Manahan’s midtempo romp and finally Scott Sunn’s deeeeeep techno shplunking. Add that to Jenna and team’s beautiful makeover of the Church of Bass, Cupcake or Dies baked goodness, and the projected Entranced game, and we had all the right ingredients for a superb party.

The entire night was recorded and I’ll be posting the sets to the Chillography site, once I get around to processing the recording. I’m still working on the recordings from 201, but both shows will be available very soon. I promise!

My photos:

And check out this great little Chillography montage from Lara.

From the Microscopics blog:

Osmos Released: Free Copies to Give Away

Osmos, the ambient game with the ambient soundtrack, has been released and we have three free copies to give away. Just add a comment to this post below, and we’ll use our atmospheric-noise derived, random number generator to draw three winners on Monday 24th Aug. Easy.

Note that actual gameplay is smoother than the video.

The full game has 47 levels and features music from Gas, High Skies, Biosphere, Julien Neto, Loscil and others, and is DRM free.

$10 from Hemisphere Games direct
$10 from Steam
$10 from Direct2Disc, plus gift Osmos to a friend for $1

A demo is also available if you’d like to try first.

WinXP/ Vista/ Bootcamp currently, with Mac and Linux versions to follow.
Mac and Linux versions will be free updates if bought direct from Hemisphere

REVIEWS
“beyond doubt, a work of genius… a relaxing, meditative experience, about going with the flow… very ethereal feel to the design… It all adds up to something otherworldly and just… incredible.” read more at GameAndPlayer.net

“wonderful gameplay… beautifully polished and tantalisingly atmospheric… Osmos mixes puzzle, action and strategy remarkably and all the while does it with great finesse and style.” read more at Indiegames.com

Spotted on the always interesting Synthtopia blog.

Done.

Check out the stream here.

Blush is a free game about the underwater exploits of a physics based squid (or Crystalline Attack Sperm, depending on who you talk to.) As you collect eggs and return them to the various glowing catchers, your tentacles grow longer and your speed increases. By the end of the game, you’re brawling against some rather sizable critters. We’ll let you discover just how large and how many for yourselves!

The best part about all this is that it’s free! Give it a play over at http://blurst.com/blush/. There’s lots of great making-of posts on the Blurst blog, so check that out as well, if you are into such things.



Like the soundtrack? dB Soundworks has made all three tracks used in the game available for download here.

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Shpongle, the hugely popular ambient project from Simon Posford and co-pilot Raja Ram. Where organic harmonies and melodies blend with the most cutting edge digital effects to bring you the kind of sonic experience, that will leave you seriously Shpongled!

Shpongle return to the Roundhouse with a brand new show. This time to celebrate the worldwide launch of their 4th studio album ‘Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland’

CD copies will be available on the night- 3 weeks before any shops or websites.

Here’s a bit of video from the 2008 Roundhouse show:

Here’s some great Solar Fields performance footage featuring the track Discovering. This must have been an incredible musical experience for those in attendance.

Enter the ambient world of Osmos: elegant, physics-based gameplay, dreamlike visuals, and a minimalist, electronic soundtrack.

Your objective is to grow by absorbing other motes. Propel yourself by ejecting matter behind you. But be wise: ejecting matter also shrinks you. Relax… good things come to those who wait.

Progress from serenly ambient levels into varied and more challenging worlds. Confront attractors, repulsors and intelligent motes with similar abilities and goals as you.

This game looks great, and with music by Gas/High Skies, Julien Neto and Loscil it is sure to sound great too. A bit more info, screen shots, and a playable “alpha” demo (Windows only) can be found at the Hemisphere Games site. I’m looking forward to seeing the development of this and similar “ambient” games, such as the super fun Auditorium.

More about Sebastian and his band EQlateral can be found here.

More about James Whetzel can be found at www.funketabla.com and http://ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel.

And for your further enjoyment, here’s some good video of a typical James Whetzel solo set:

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