Citta Flow - With Intention Review

Artist: Citta Flow

Title: With Intention E.P.

Label: Invibe Music

Release: 15^th January 2013

Hailing from Seattle Citta Flow utilise instruments from around the world with electronic production. Combining the past with the present with the notion to create music infused with a mindfulness towards internal depths, spacious meditation, and alchemically healing intentions.

I felt the acoustics and ambient vocal tones of first track “Space Voodoo” was very much akin to the sounds of Lauge & Baba Gnohm and probably a track I would utilise in a chillout set. “Roots Voyage” begins with a more tribal feel accompanied by a didgeridoo this drops in places and the acoustic guitar is back accompanied by celtic sounding vocal tones. The title track “Intention” is the only true song of the e.p. and again has a celtic feel to it. These days I listen to far more instrumentals and it didn’t appeal as much to me (but I guess there are plenty of people out there who prefer a song). “Gaia Journey” is another tribal/didge no with some lovely vocal tones and Native American flute sounds. The E.P. closes with the Cosmos Mix of “Waiting For The Storm” which combines funky acoustics, flutes and more notable percussion.

Overall the E.P. is quite nice for kicking back and relaxing to and if you prefer the organic and global elements why not have a listen …

https://soundcloud.com/#invibe-music/roots-voyage-citta-flow 

Reviewed by Woodzee

Pete Ardron & Samantha Ray - Interuterion Review

Artist: Pete Ardron & Samantha Ray


Title: Interuterion


Label: Pink Hampster Recordings


Release Date: December 2012

I was more than slightly intrigued to listen to this album. Samanta’s vocals within Orchid-Star are stunning and the power of her voice for me is most apparent in the track “Passion” this release takes you to the other side of the pendulum and the titles couldn’t be more apt.

Serenity originally produced in 2003 it was used in 2005 as the musical core to Simon Rogers' exhibition Water Feature and in 2010 as the soundtrack to Collision Course by Carmelo Musca of CM Films and Garry Stewart of the Australian Dance Theatre.

Reverie Uses recordings from sessions for both Orchid-Star and Sam and Pete's opera-fusion project (out in 2013) Reverie focuses more on Sam's voice as both a richly varied solo instrument and a phenomenal sound-source to manipulate.

Pete compares the two pieces to a lake and a river the first a static environment and the second a flowing journey. For me both tracks achieve their goal in the sense that setting aside half an hour to listen to either track completely relaxed me before the end. I can only imagine this is what it feels like to have a half hour session in a floatation tank.

Musically (and indeed vocally) I enjoyed“Reverie” more. For me this track "seemed" to hold more of a human element, while in fact the whole composition of this release was made utilising only the human voice. Exploring and experimenting with the beautiful tones and heavenly choral aspects of Samanta’s voice Pete creates two tracks that could easily be confused for a choral and synthetic fusion

My verdict if you’re looking to escape the beats and listen to something more meditative and healing for the body and mind you can’t go wrong here it’s a fantastic collaboration by two amazingly talented artists.

Link

http://pinkhampster.com/html/artistpage.php?artist=Pete%20Ardron%20and%20Samantha%20Ray

Review by Woodzee

Ishq - And Awake Review

Artist - Ishq


Album: And Awake


Label: Interchill


Release Date: 18th Nov 2011

I must confess that I was completely ignorant of Ishq prior to listening to this album.

Ishq are Matt Hillier and Jacqueline Kelsey and are based in St. Ives, Cornwall. The name Ishq derives from the Arabic word to describe Love. In Islam’s Sufi and mystic doctrine it is a concept that refers to ‘divine love’ i.e. man’s love for God.

My first impression was the beautiful cover for the album. The silhouette of a whirling dervish dancer framing the sunset colours of the ocean within.

This is a body of music that welcomes you right from the start with open arms- Like a half remembered dream on awaking that leaves you with a warm smile on your face.

Since being sent this album it has been a constant on my stereo and I-Pod. This music has accompanied me on early morning walks across the park with the winter sun low in the sky; watching the snow fall slowly through my bedroom window. It has eased me into sleep and prepared me for the day to come. The music seems to draw its influences from various parts of the world but never sounds contrived. It is always lush and natural, warm and expansive.

An album this strong as a whole it seems churlish to single out any particular tracks but I’m going to risk it! ‘Leaf’ with its introduction of soft lapping water, and soft gentle beats puts me in mind of ‘Life before Land’ by Another Fine Day. High praise indeed as it’s one of my all time favourite albums of ambient music. The haunting, melancholic feel to Blue Drop with its oriental flutes and otherworldly vocals is quite simply breath taking.

This is an album of sublime textures and multi layers that will transport you to somewhere tranquil and serene. 

I will be seeking out more of Matt and Jacqueline’s music.

Reviewed by Matthew Foord

Liquid Stranger - Cryogenic Encounters review

Label: Interchill 

Mastered By: Vincent Villuis @ Ultimae

Release Date: 5th January 2012

Sitting back playing this through an Arcam amp with new Denon headphones was a perfect come down from a hectic New Year. Martin Stääf‘s Liquid Stranger releases continue to amaze me. Although the material he releases on Interchill are generally less harsh than those on Rottun this album is even more chilled than it's predecessors. The album has a atmospheric backdrop reminiscent of the synthesized sounds of 70's space movies, expertly drifting in and out of different themes ranging from slo mo bass heavy and trip-hop beats, reggae, psy-chill, idm, spacey jazz-funk and beatless ambience providing a perfect soundtrack for getting warm and cosy on a winter’s night.

The opening track Beacon for example begins with a slow trip-hop vibe and soon envelopes you in a funky madness that slowly fades into a lush chilled ambient drone with bass heavy notes. A personal favourite Zeal begins not unlike the Art of Noise slowly enticing you in further through multiple layers until the bass drops. There’s plenty going on throughout the track including an unexpected and slightly vocoder’ish vocal accompaniment. While the final track Ectoplasm is an Ishq’esque beatless ambient affair ideally suited for total relaxation.


Reviewed by Woodzee.

M&M's Interview

Martim Joao a.k.a. M&M's is a Portuguese d.j. whose down-tempo sets cover a wide range of genres such as neo-classical, idm, ambient, psychedelic and jazz.

I felt this suited our eclectic tastes and asked Martim to submit a mix. As he finds profiles boring we opted for this interview to accompany the mix instead.



1) Could you tell us a little about yourself and what inspires you to dj in the ambient genre?

Well I've always been a music maniac; I was raised listening to Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Chopin, by my mid teens I discovered the love generation Classics such as Patti Smith, The Doors, Jimmy Hendrix and the Psychedelic Masters Pink Floyd. Different projects followed like Dead Kennedys, Crass, Sonic Youth, Swans, Young Gods, Diamanda Galas, Test Dept, Pixies, Fura del Baus etc. This was in the late 80's and music was rapidly changing. I started compiling my favorite tracks into K7s and playing them everywhere, from private parties with friends to everybody's Walkman. I had to get the right order to make some kind of sense or story.

In 1990 I went to live in South America and started to listen to more ethnic tunes and traditional folk music from around the world, it was only when I got back home in the late 90's that I was introduced to electronic soundscapes, drum'n'bass and psy-trance. The ambient genre was always present but I didn't really looked at it as a genre, but more like a state of mind, a frequency where the tunes are in balance with my true nature, this is probably due to my childhood living in the country side listening to classical music. So for me Ambient is music, all the rest are arms that emerge from ambient, but don't get me wrong I love all those arms. :)

Inspiration is a tricky subject; it happens most of the time in short and subtle moments that are really out of my control, the hard part is the everyday research for tracks between hundreds of artists. The moment that a particular inspiration comes is blissful and I live for that hit, from that moment on I float away until the work is finished. I can't live without it, it’s like that feeling when you find an amazing track and you play it over and over again like there's no tomorrow. That you've found the music and heavens doors are finally opened. Sometimes the true engine is a book or a movie, or just an interesting subject that crossed my mind talking to a friend, or a documentary of science or history, or just a simple and quiet morning observing nature’s simplicity.

2) You played a four hour chillout set at the Boom festival in Portugal, how did you find the experience?

DJ sets at Boom in the ambient area are always 4 hours long and I really dig it. It’s just the right amount of time in order to go into a full journey through different ambient spaces. I've always enjoyed long sessions - once I played a gig in South Africa for 12 hours! :)

The experience was amazing, Boom Festival is the right place and time to move forward in every aspect, it’s a Tribal gathering from all over the planet, lots of friends from many places join to express life and enjoy that awareness. So, yes it was amazing. It was great to have the 5pm/9pm schedule to make the transition from Sun to Moon, people enjoyed it and I was really happy with the outcome.

3) Your currently compiling a compilation cd "Noosphere" could you tell us a little more about the project?

Well I'm still compiling the VA to www.ajnavision.com, hopefully it will come out in early 2011, it is a digital release from a young Portuguese label, check the site for updates and releases.

4) When creating your sets do you prefer hardware, software or a combination of the two?

I’ve always worked with my CDJs-100 and DJM-300 from Pioneer, just recently because one of the CDJ got broken I tried some software and I found it really useful, so nowadays I use both, the software to edit tracks, samples and add effects, and the CDJ to mix all together.

5) Now for the Old Desert Island Disc question. Name three ambient albums you couldn’t live without?

Well that's a hard one really, especially because I really extract my favorite tracks and forget about the other ones...
I can say that presently I'm amazed by the work of Jon Hopkins, Doyeq, Field Rotation and Murcof.

But I have more than a few great albums that I can't live without and some of them are not really ambient:

Bob Holroyd - The Hallow Man
Sandoo - Twilight
Brian Eno & Robert Fripp - Evening Star
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Jon Hopkins - Insides
Doyeq - Eyelashes of lanterns
Murcof & Erik Trufazz - Mexico
Field Rotation - Licht und Schatten
Amon Tobin - Permutation
Asura - life2
Bruno Sanfillippo - Piano Textures 1 and 2

Tripswitch interview

1) Firstly thank you for taking the time out from your busy schedule to complete this interview. Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you started your musical career?

Having trained on the piano and trumpet as a kid, I settled on the guitar
as my instrument of choice at 12. I went up the classical grades through my
teens and taught myself the electric in parallel with that by painstakingly
learning licks from my record / tape collection. Play ... pause ... rewind
... play ... pause ... you get the idea. I played in a lot of bands in my
teens, blues, jazz, goth-rock, metal - we used to play pubs and clubs around
Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. I've always been broad-minded in my
musical tastes, I think it's healthy.

At the beginning of the 90s I started DJing progressive house and
Frankfurt trance, and I had a mate with a serious collection of analog gear
- a couple of 303s, a Juno 60, JX-8P, 808, 909, Korg Mono-Poly - so I used
to spend days and nights there mucking about and learning about midi and cv.
Then I moved onto Protracker on the Amiga, and started to build my own
collection of synths, starting with a Juno 106.

By '96 I was living in London and had immersed myself in the psy-trance
scene. I lived with Chris and Kostas from Magus for a year or two and we
kind of developed in tandem - I moved through Cubase, Cakewalk and finally
onto Logic in '98. By '99 I was co-owner of a studio and rehearsal room in
Kennington, which became a bit of a hub for all sorts of musical activity.
We put on some small trance parties under the name "Club Tiny" and hosted
some of the cream of London's trance DJs - the Transient guys in particular.

A CD of some trance I'd been writing ended up in the hands of Humphrey
Bacchus, who was managing Dragonfly at the time, and it had a couple of
chillout tracks tacked on the end - "Shamanic Tea" and "Deer Park" - and I
got a call saying he wanted to use Deer Park on a new LSD compilation. Then
he changed his mind and plumped for Shamanic Tea, and the comp came out as
"Mana Medicine". The rest, as they say, is history.

2) Your latest album "Geometry" was released in October. Could you tell us a little about we can expect?

Geometry's definitely moved away from "Circuit Breaker" and while it still
holds psychedelic influences, it's perhaps less identifiable as a psy-chill
album ... you can't keep writing the same stuff forever, it's important to
evolve musically or you just stagnate. It's been a bit scary anticipating
how it would be received among fans in the psytrance scene, especially after
so long and given the reputation "Circuit Breaker" has built up over the
years ... it's a relief to see that it's going down pretty well!

I'm now thoroughly in love with the guitar again and it features a lot
more on "Geometry". The ethnic influences have been replaced with more
6-string inspirations like shoegaze, blues and jazz while still maintaining
an primarily electronic thread. If anything it's generally a bit more dancey
than Circuit Breaker, with much of the second half sitting in the 115-120bpm
midtempo range.

Was this diluting of the psychedelia intentional? To some extent, yes.
Don't get me wrong, I love the scene, am still actively involved in terms of
festivals and parties and working with other labels, and I'm eternally
grateful for the support I've received from the psy community. At the same
time, I've been releasing for 10 years and there comes a point where you
have to start to think in commercial terms if you want to justify carrying
on. This scene, lovely and intimate though it is, is limited by its very
nature, and who wants to box themselves into a corner? Hopefully Geometry's
appeal is sufficiently wide to bring new listeners in without alienating the
old ones.

With CD sales in the psy scene all but dead in the water, and even digital
sales seemingly on the decline as fewer and fewer people are prepared to pay
for music, many artists now rely on gigging to make up their income.
Manageable if you're a main stage act gigging a lot, but as a chill producer
in the psy scene, there are very few promoters who consider what we do
merits more than a fraction of a main act's fees. It's understandable on one
level as people go to a dance festival to ... well, dance, so the budgets
are bound to be weighted that way. But on a practical level it makes it
very, very hard to build a sustainable career as a downtempo producer,
especially if you have kids to feed and mortgages to pay. Hence why
Geometry's taken so long to bring out ... you do what's needed to keep food
on the table, and sometimes the music has to take second place.

3) The album is being released on your own label "Section Records" could you give us an insight into the other acts you have on board?

I set Section Records up for 2 reasons - first, to take ownership of my
own music, and secondly to really focus my own musical tastes and provide an
outlet for anything fitting into those parameters. While quality downtempo
music will certainly be a cornerstone of Section, I'm also keen to explore
other, more uptempo styles and get back to my roots, as it were. I grew into
the psy scene after years DJing progressive house, and I'm going back to
that sound in a big way, both in my own productions and in the music I sign
and the remixers I'm bringing on board. I'm a big fan of dubstep and listen
to a lot of glitch too. I'm not ruling anything out at this stage, so be
prepared for some pretty diverse output over the coming years.

I've got a couple of really solid acts coming under the roster at the
moment. The first is Aurtas, a Japanese producer who's relatively unknown
but seriously, seriously talented. His music has an old-school progressive
house sound, Way Out West kinda vibe with delicate but solid production and
bags of skill with his composition. He's done some amazing remixes of my
first 3 singles which you'll hear soon. There needs to be more music like
his out there, so I'm gonna do something about it!

The other act I'm working with are Koan, who you may well know ... they're
a Russian act with a smooth and deep production technique and an ear for
melody that you don't come across very often. They also feature on the
Strange Parallels release and I have some excellent new material from them
to release in the New Year.

I'm also giving my own Codemonkey project some love after parking it up
for a while. Conceived as an outlet for anything more uptempo, it's
developed into two strands, one dark and dubsteppy and the other more
progressive and dancey. I'm having a lot of fun with it at the moment and
the New Year will finally see some Codemonkey releases hitting the shelves.

4) Which artists currently impress you?

Within the chill scene, I'd say Ultimae really have the crown right now. I
love everything Magnus (Solar Fields) produces, the new Asura album is
absolutely stunning, and I heard a sneak preview of some of the new Aes Dana
album the other week which really blew me away. Petit Ange is another great
producer under their wing. They're an amazing family down there and have
been super helpful with the set up of Section, and are also handling most of
my distribution.

In other genres - I've been listening to a lot of shoegaze and nu-gaze in
recent years, bands that stand out are Port Royal, Mint, Oceansize and of
course Sigur Ros and Ulrich Schnauss.

Dubstep / Glitch-hop/ IDM: Liquid Stranger, Opiuo, Bass Science / Matt B /
Nalepa, Deru, Tipper and my good friend Gaudi. On a UK dubstep tip, Kode9,
Burial, Benga, Breakage. For me, Burial's probably the most striking
producer overall of the past few years. His sound is so emotive for me, the
broken two-step beats take me right back to the years living in South
London, but he puts those memories in a deep, dark and otherworldly space
which I'd not really visited since Joy Division. Sublime.

Progressive / house / minimal etc: Shiloh, Luke Chable, Tom Glass, Ticon,
Perfect Stranger, Antix / Fiord and Iboga, Hope Recordings, Baroque and of
course Deadmau5.

5) Could you tell us about your set-up and provide a tip for inspiring musicians?

I've just stripped down my studio and rebuilt it ... I've actually gone
very zen this time. From being surrounded by synths, samplers and other gear
a few years ago, I'm now down to a bare minimum and far more efficient as a
result. I have one rack with my beloved Virus C and some mixing / mastering
outboard, a pair of Mackie monitors, Kurzweil K2000 and am still running a
Yamaha 01v mixer which connects to my interface via ADAT. The room is
acoustically treated with a number of products from the excellent Vicoustic
range.

I'm a Logic man through and through and have been using it for 12 years
now. Version 9 is outstanding, you can't beat it for flexibility and the new
Flex-time and Bounce in Place features are a godsend.

I have a couple of guitars at the moment, a Takamine steel-strung acoustic
and a Gibson Les Paul. I also have a bizarre aluminium foldaway Aria travel
guitar that's pretty dodgy really, but it's got a really bright sound that
works well for some things.

Here are my top tips for anyone starting out:

1) In terms of software, less is usually more. Don't be tempted to
overload your computer with every plugin and soft synth you can find,
regardless of how easy they may be to get hold of! Install less and devote
your time to mastering them, you'll be surprised what you can achieve
creatively and the theory you learn along the way. I have maybe 3 or 4
favourite soft synths which I use almost exclusively. Similarly with
plugins ... focus on quality rather than quantity.

2) When it comes to your album. work for the best publishing deal you can.
Find a publisher who will actively work with your music and get a lawyer to
look over the contract. That document could be pivotal to how your career
progresses from that point on.

3) Good quality monitors and a room whose sound you can trust will
probably be your most important investment if you're serious about your
production.

4) Be patient, believe in your music, refine your technique, and enjoy it!
Throw in a bit of luck and hopefully you'll be on your way. Writing music
can be a truly cathartic and enriching process if you do it for the right
reasons and with the right mindset.


Links:

http://sectionrecords.com/

.

http://www.tripswitch.mu/
.

http://www.facebook.com/nicktripswitch

.
http://www.facebook.com/sectionrecords

.

http://www.myspace.com/nicktripswitch

.

http://www.myspace.com/sectionrecords

*Originally compiled for Chillbase.org (but never featured)

Lemonchill Interview

This is an interview I did for Chillbase around the beginning of the year which for some reason was never published.

Idan Or hails from Haifa and is one among the few artists emerging in the ambient side genre rather than the Goa trance scene more commonly associated with Israel’s electronic musicians. His releases over the last couple of years have combined sounds from trance, synth-pop, jazz and world music into his own unique ambient tapestry.

1) What or who inspired you to create your music within the ambient genre?

Wow good question, well when I first started creating music my "mentor" Yariv Atzion (Stereo Underground) heard my first few demos and he gave me the advice that I should go with the more down tempo style. So I did and I must admit that I really enjoy working with this kind of music genre.

2) You have released material on a few labels over the last two years. Did you embark on a different theme for each release which appealed to each label individually?

No, actually my first album "Sentnat" was almost released on "Cyberset records", but I got the reply from them a few days after I signed with my first label. After a while I noticed that they had made a real bad of job promoting my album so I released it with "Ricochet Dream records". "Cyberset records" are very pleased with my music style and I am also very happy with the promotion and treatment I get from them. Also Ricochet Dream records are cool to work with. Now I have received offers from bigger record labels to sign with them and release my albums. But for now I am very pleased with those two labels.

3) Do you combine hardware and software in your studio and do you have a preference for any particular synth?

Yes I do, I am in love with the "Korg" sound although it may sound a bit "80s" I still think it create unique sound that appeals to many people ears across many music genres. Regarding the soft synths I like the sound that "Absynth" makes and also "Moog" and "Mini Monster" while the music program I use is "Nuendo". For hardware I also use Adam a6 monitors as I think they are very accurate and have a distinctive sound, and I favour "Sennheiser" earphones.

4) You have a new re-mix album "Sleeping Giants" due for release on Ricochet Dream Records. Could you tell us more about the album?

"Sleeping with giants" will be released soon and I really love this remix project it has some unique re-mixes by Terra Nine, Side Liner, Zero Cult, Limbo, Hol Baumann, Mindwave, Chronos and one from myself too. There will also be another re-mix album released this year this entitled "Room 305" and it will contain progressive house and trance re-mixes by artists such as: Hi Profile, Ramin & Dash, Kay D and many more. In fact this will be a double album since I received so many good re-mixes. It will also include a first time collaboration between me and Kritikos (Feel) from Greece.

5) When you first heard the re-mixes did anyone really surprise you with the direction of their input?

Yes Dennis from "limbo" made a really unique re-mix something like "Shpongle" gone techno I was really amazed by this re-mix also I think "Side Liner" made a really good re-mix one of the best on this new re-mix album.

6) Are there any plans for Lemonchill live sets on the festival circuit this year?

At the moment no, I am really working hard on releasing the album "Sleeping with giants" and finishing the album “Room 305" since there are tracks there that I am involved with I find my self spending so much of my time at the studio. But I hope after the release of these two albums that I can start working on some live shows.

Links

http://www.myspace.com/lemonchill1

http://www.ricochetdream.com/

http://www.cybersetmusic.com/

Simon Lewis of Amanaska Interview

Austrailia's Amanaska (a Sanskrit term for restfullness) combine electronica with music they have encountered on their travels around the globe. If down-tempo, jazzy Balearic sounds fused with Indian, African and Aboriginal vibes appeal to you then you can't go far wrong with Amanaska.

1) Which artists inspired you most in forming your sound?

With regard to the artists that inspired me. They all have a very strong and prominent acoustic and live element to their music. This is something I am passionate about and don't really dig pure electronica so much. Nitin Sawnhey writes great songs and is the master of understatement and space in his music. Karsh Kale is a bit more edgy and heavier, plus a killer tabla player. Pat Methany is and incredible virtuoso and composer and writes gorgeous melodies. As for Peter Gabriel, what can I say............

2) You utilise a variety of instruments the Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, synths, melodica, didgeridoo, accordian and percussive instruments. What appeals to you about electro-acoustic sounds rather than solely synthetic?

The electro acoustic instruments have a unique personality of their own that inspires ways of playing and writing that may not be possible in the synthetic world. I feel a certain kind of 'soul' when I use them that makes me take up half my house and studio with storing them all.

3) A lot of your tracks have been composed on the road collaborating with artists around the globe. Was this something you had planned from day one? Or an idea formed from a collection of spur of the moment jams?

The 'on the road' collaborations were planned but there were many spontaneous events that lead to other collaborations as well.

4) You were involved with the Buddah Bar Ocean DVD which features several tracks composed by yourself. Could you tell us more about this project?

Dj Ravin used my track 'Sleep' from Circles on Volume IX which lead to the label contacting me about being involved with the DVD project. The brief was very simple. The only gave me single phrases as inspiration to write to. Their view was that they wanted me to write tracks inspired by my imagination rather than images or rough cuts they gave me. They then cut the visuals to my music. I ended up spending a week in Paris fine tuning the final edits and working with Alain. One of the tracks they had wasn't working so they asked me to write one for this scene. I did this in my hotel room on the laptop on a two octave keyboard. Great fun!

4) You’re currently working on a new album when do you anticipate this to be released and will there be an accompanying world tour?

The new one is more than half finished but I haven't had the time to put into it to fine tune everything and finish it. I hope to have it ready by March next year and would love to do a world tour with it. I have some serious planning to do!

5) Which artists are currently exciting you?

As I write this I am listening to Shrift - Lost in a Moment which is superb. I saw Seal live in Melbourne last week which was amazing. I would love to get him to sing on one of my tracks. what a voice! Would also love to get Emiliana Torrini. loving John Scofield and Marcin Wasilewski too

6) For people unfamiliar with your music where can they hear your work?

The best place to start is our web-site (click the title to go there). There is plenty of stuff on youtube too. the "Drift' video will give some background into the Indian recording sessions for Circles

Terra Nine interview

Terra Nine is Mike Westcot from Auckland, New Zealand. Mike has combined the sound of the electric voila with electronica. The result ranges from orchestral ambience to more beat driven techno and has taken the Terra Nine show worldwide.

1. My first knowledge of an electric violin was in the early 90’s with Ed Alleyene-Johnson’s “Purple Electric Violin Concerto”. Although, if I had read my album covers more closely I would have realised that John Cale used an electric viola on the Velvet Undergrounds “Venus in Furs” and they have been around for longer than that. When did you first come across the instrument and what attracts you to the viola rather than the violin?

My first exposure to the idea of an electric violin was as a 12 y.o., seeing Jimmy Page use a violin bow to play his electric guitar....making these awesome sounds as a result - after that, my violin classical practice time was not quite the same - degenerating as it did from then on (once I’d finished my scales) into a cacaphony of harmonic notes...

Later on I bought my first electric fiddle - a Barcus Berry Vioelectra - a lovely shiny jet black 5-string model, but I found that the strings were too close together and I didn't like the sound of the violin E-string - preferring the more mellow tones of the bottom C-string up to the A-string. So I did some mods to the fingerboard using a file and came up with a 4-string ‘viola’...it’s worked well ever since…

String-based musical influences for me as an impressionable teenager included Robert Fripp and David Cross in King Crimson, L Shankar and Jean Luc Ponty in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, John Cale in The Velvet Underground and Adrian Belew in early Talking Heads ….all of whom did amazing violin work, or played guitar using violin-like styles....

2. Stream of Consciousness is the sixth release by Terra Nina along with many tracks featured on compilation albums. How would you say the music has evolved since the last release in 2007?

The latest album features the inspired vocals of Aviatrix, aka Kerensa Stephens on a number of the tracks and is stylistically more uptempo and song oriented - with influences including breaks, drum n bass dub and a little bit of dubstep. Cath and Al Dragojevic also feature on this new release, perf,orming live bass, didge and percussion, while Damian Verna (Red Eye Express) and Ben Heppel (Stickleback) contribute the rhythm section in the drum n bass track So Human.
This release also features remixes by OTT and Pete Ardron of Orchid Star (and Glow) fame, both of which make this album less chilled and more ‘danceable’

3. Terra Nine as a project also includes a band comprising vocals, didgeridoo, harp and bass guitar. When selecting the band members did you have people in mind or where you more interested in the instruments required?

Both really - all the member of Terra Nine were chosen for their musical excellence and instrumentation, as well as the fact that we are on the same page musically and are all good friends.

4. For those who have not heard your music and are interested where would you recommend they start?

Start with the latest album and work back…;-) you can find links to everything at: www.myspace.com/terra9music
and at: www.terranine.com

5. You’ve taken the live show worldwide before. Which of the countries you’ve played in have you enjoyed the most? Are there any live dates currently?

I have loved playing everywhere really - Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Australia, NZ and the UK - my festival faves so far would be Hadra and Ambiosonic in France, Al Andalus in Spain, Full Moon in Germany, Bakony in Hungary, Rainbow Serpent in Australia, Canaan Downs in NZ and Waveform in the UK.

The NZ and Australian festivals are always special to me because they are close to home and all my friends are there…

So far, confirmed Terra Nine gigs include Rainbow Serpent 2010 next January in Australia and Waveform 2010 plus Festival of Life next September in the UK… plus there will be a slew of other shows in Europe and the UK…Locally, here in NZ, I may be playing at Splore in February…but it is not as yet confirmed.

6. New Zealand seems to have an abundance of reggae artists. Many of which are exploring electro-acoustic fusions. Are there any less well known artists you would recommend?

Yup …Ecophonic for one, plus Ddub are another good band, although my faves are Pitch Black and Salmonella Dub and thety are pretty well known…

Perpetual Loop Interview

Click the title to go to Perpetual Loops web-site.

Perpetual Loop a.k.a. Charles Massey from Manchester. Charles is an artist who fuses ethnic, balearic, ambient, breakz and soundscapes which have appeared on compiliations and has just completed his second album. You can also catch Perpetual loop live p.a.'s and d.j. sets at various festivals and club chillout areas.

1. You used to run a promotion in Liverpool playing house, progressive & trance. Which artistsinfluenced you to work in the ambient genre?

I've always loved ambient / chill out music, I'm a huge fan of Vangelis. Voices is one of my all time favourite albums. Other people include Simon Posford, his production style is amazing. Shpongle, Celtic Cross, Younger Brother, you can always recognise his work. I love cinematic music as well, Cliff Martinez and Clint Mansell to name a few. I actually stumbled into the ambient genre when sending of 4 track demo to record labels (three upbeat and one slow). It was the slow track that caught the eye of Organic Records.

2. In 2004 along with veterans Michael Dog (Megadog/Pushmipulyu) and Joie Hinton (Ozrics/Eat Static) you appeared on the Rumour Records release “Gateway to the Sun”. What did you learn from this experience?

To be honest I was not involved in compiling the actual release, that was more down to Chris Organic and Om Records. I was just lucky enough to be included in the release with the slow track mentioned above.

3. Where can people hear your music?

Well there's Myspace and SoundSauce. There's links to these sites on my own website http://www.perpetualloop.co.uk/ . I've recently put up on my site some DJ sets I've done, as well as few recent live performances. I'm a resident DJ at Fluid radio so mixes are sometimes played there, as well as Last FM. Of course there is also sunisshiningdubnchill.blogspot.com now. :-) I've had tracks released on Compilations such as Gateway to the Sun, Psymeditation I and Psymeditation II, as well as my own album called "Universal Flow". I've also recently started to play live PA sets and are always on the look out for more places to play. I love playing live! It's a real buzz. I've play downbeat as well as upbeat chilled sets depending on the venue. To date I've played a few festivals (Offworld and waveform) as well as Inspiral Lounge (Camden) and a few times at Tribe of Frog (Bristol). My music is pitched as "psy-chill" but I think it's much wider than that and therefore I'm trying to play at a wider range of venues. I'd love to get out to Ibiza and do a few gigs there, but then again I'm sure alot of people are thinking exactly the same thing.

4. You’re currently working on a new album. Is there any new hardware or software you’re using on the project which excites you?

Well the album (Catching Zinc) is now finished, and should be getting released later this year. I actually made the decision to remove most of the my hardware from my set up. I use to have a 48 track desk, with several effect units, and a Super Bass Station, Emu Orbit and a Supernova (which I loved). Anyway most things these days can be done in Plug-in form like the Novation v-station being a softsynth of the supernova, so I sold it all. That way I have studio at home with a hefty computer, but also I can replicate the same set up on my Laptop and take that with me. What excited me the most was probably the Thor inclusion into Reason. An amazing peace of equipment. Cakewalk's Rapture is also pretty impressive. The first album was very much sample based from Reason, where this one was much more instrument driven and loads and loads of plugins over everything. I got to grip more with the production side things with this release as well and Wavelab has to be my choice for that.

5. You’re classically trained on both the cello and piano and havewritten film soundtracks. Which do you find more challenging playingas part of an orchestra or creating someone’s vision employing thecomputer as your orchestra?

That's a really cool question. Definitely the latter,as you are responsible for all the instruments and how they sit with each other, and not just one. I played the cello when I was younger and one thing that frustrated me at the time about it was that generally to play any peace of music you would need the rest of the orchestra with you. You were part of it which was great, but practicing was a bit isolated. Then I moved to the piano, basically because you can play the whole peace of music on your own with out the dependency being there. Now with computers you have the best of both words. You create the entire peace of music on your own but with the backing of 30 - 40 virtual players. Technology has really opened up the possibilities.

6. Which artists impress you at the moment?

I'm really loving the internet. It opens up your access to artists that the you would never encounter in the conventional music store. I use music-map.com allot of the time to find new artists that sound like artists I already know and like. Currently, I still love Shpongle and younger brother. Other artists are Phutureprimitive, Ted Madison, Ulrich Schnauss, Eat Static, Enoch Prusak , Chime, Snakestyle, OmniMotion and Lunar Sound, to name a view!

Mystical Sun Interview

Click the title to download a Mystical Sun podcast for Ambient : Emissions of Sonic Beauty.

Mystical Sun is an aloof ambient project from California in the United States. His releases utilize both organic and synthetic elements as well as using custom built instruments to create an ethereal exploration into sound.

Q: How significant is heliolatry in choosing the name Mystical Sun and how does this reflect the music that you’re producing?

It plays a part on multiple levels. There are several layers of meaning in the name. In studying and reading about other cultures, particularly ancient ones, the Sun has always been central. You can find winged sun discs all the way from Egypt to pre-Columbian Americas. The physical Sun is something phenomenal. There would be no us without Sun, this is all possible because of it. The name is and homage to that as well.


Another meaning for the name is more akin to the spirit of the Sun as a being, entity or life-form. Somehow our brains are networked to the Sun and in the future I think we will discover that the magnetic fields produced by the Sun have effects on human consciousness.


Hopefully the music functions like the Sun and brings people some electromagnetic nourishment.


Q: When did you first start creating music and when did you find yourself drawn towards the ambient genre?

A: Creating music is something I've seriously explored since the early 90's when the project was intentionally formed to create this type of sound.


The mission began before I was aware of the genre. It began when electronic music was more underground and less infected by pop music culture. Creating cinematic soundtracks, atmospheric worlds, and dissolving time is the mission.


Q: For people visiting California are there any festivals or clubs you would recommend?

California has festivals and clubs of all kinds and many active scenes. There is the annual Earthdance Festival and several others that happen at various times around the year. Northern and Southern California are very different and sport alternative scenes. If someone is visiting California they'll have plenty of options. I tend remain peripheral to all this activity.


The best part about California though is the land itself. California has amazing terrains to explore like a multitude of beaches, deep ocean coastlines, high deserts, sand dunes, the lowest place in the northern hemisphere, alpine lakes, rolling grasslands with dotted oaks, ancient boreal rain forests, the oldest and biggest living life-forms on Earth, lava beds, several mountain ranges, inland seas, a 14,000 ft. volcano and sister volcanoes of immense power, a mega volcano and forest river systems. To fully explore all the terrains in California would take someone several decades.


Q: When creating music what do you prefer using most hardware, software or organic instruments?


All three. My criteria is the sound first, the source of the sound isn't as important as to whether or not the sound is what the track needs. I have several acoustic, ethnic and electronic instruments and a vast sound library that I have been building up since the 90's. I mix everything "in the box" now, in the past I had an elaborate mixer/effects rig analog tape based studio. I prefer to work digitally now because it allows for maximum flexibility and the option to evolve tracks over years with no sound degradation. When I work on a track, I hear the instruments and sounds in it, before they are actually added, so my task is to find the closest sound to what I am hearing in my mind.

Q: Where can people unfamiliar with Mystical Sun hear your music?


On the internet. This music difficult to find so the best way to find it is online. The internet really helped early on, because it enabled the music to reach the distant sets of listeners who are looking for something different.

The best and prescribed way to listen to the albums is on CD or in lossless format digitally. There are settings that work best. Like a sunset ride, drive some place cool during a sunset and start the CD. Space exploring, wait until late at night, wear a full set of headphones and listen. In the background, just put the music on all day long and ignore it. I've designed utility in there intentionally.


I'd like to get across to new listeners that the music is non-linear and moves through time in a different way than other music. A different way of listening opens many doors to understanding the tracks. The tracks are growers meaning, they make more sense over time.


Q: Apart from Mystical Sun are there any other projects you’re involved in?


Not right now, Mystical Sun is all I have time for.

With the longest solar eclipse due in 2009 there are various festivals running this theme. For those with a deeper interest there is this DVD from the Exploratorium & NASA. The soundtrack is by Mystical Sun

http://www.ideum.com/portfolio/total_eclipse

A.I.A. Interview

A.I.A or Ambient Intelligence Application is a new upcoming ambient, down-tempo group from Greece who are trying to explore some new atmospheric paths...this group consists mostly from two brothers (writing, producing ,djing,...) I spoke to Konstantinos one half of A.I.A. about the project.

1. Which artists inspired you most to work in the ambient genre?

We could say, that some of the artists inspired us are Robert Rich, Jean Michelle Jarre, Vangelis Pathanasiou, Brian Eno, Ian Boddy.The sound from these artists was the first feeling, which took us inside the world of ambient.It’s difficult to say and stop only on these artists, being an influence to us. Influence is all things and all situations around us. So we would say, influence is a whole mixture of situations, feelings, nature and music and not only some certain artists.

2. For readers visiting Athens which clubs or festivals would you recommend?

To be honest there are no clubs focused on chill-out, ambient music in Athens.
Only some production teams are organizing some events where well-known artists are invited to perform live or dj’ing. There are some teams like: Art Ubber Ales, Organic Dream which try to keep the chill-out spirit alive. Regarding festivals it is a big story. After the legendary festivals in Samothraki Island, many organization teams start making efforts for similar festivals. We would like also mention the Aurora team which tries to help the Greek scene. Another festival is Mafia island fest, organized by the same people who organized the legendary Samothraki dance festivals. Unfortunately this festival is in Africa miles away from Greece. We wish them good luck with this.

3. You released your debut album "Physical Moments" on Ajana records in 2009. Could you tell us more about the album?

Well the shared vision and the basic idea of forming came to us on Samothraki Island in the year 2005. Where we performed as chill-out dj's (and not with the name A.I.A). As a part of the dj sets we used live compositions. Our audience enjoyed it and that was the beginning for creating the album “Physical Moments”. Our common vision is to create new sounds that could be listened to at home as well as a festival. It’s a mixture of sounds created and recorded live in a dj set.

4. Which artists currently impress you?

It is impossible to name the entire artists that impress us. We have a large collection from all kind of music. We can name few: Desiderii Marginis, Subheim, Field Rotation, Mike Sheridan, Bersian Quartet, Half Dub Theory, Somnia records, Ultimae records, Younger Brother, Shpongle, Kaya Project, Makyo, Niyaz and many more….  Also, some post alternative rock and ethnic sounds pass through our headphones.

5. Are there any plans to take A.I.A. on tour in the future?

Yes there are plans to take A.I.A on tour and we hope to participate in festivals during summer 2010 as a dj & live act. Nothing yet is confirmed. We still try to focus on preparing the live performance to be sure 100%, continuing to add to our studio set-up to make new tracks and more interesting sounds.

6. Where can readers unfamiliar with A.I.A. hear your music?

In a few months the official A.I.A. site will be uploaded. On there, our fans will be able to listen to new tracks, re-mixes and dj sets. Until then, our home is on Ajana records web-site and our Myspace profile (click the header to go there).

Don Peyote Interview

1. When did you start to take an interest in making music and who were your biggest influences?

I started making music in the late seventies, played guitar in funk/avant-guarde band in Sydney, Australia. I was also involved in the production side of the studio recordings.....in those days big analog desks and great hardware Fx....
my biggest influence at the time :Bill Laswell, Brian Eno, Steve Roach, King Tubby, Pink Floyd & Miles Davis......
"my life in the bush of ghost" album by David Byrne & Brian Eno had a profound effect on me, it was the first time i heard ethnic sampling mixed with funky beats. Still a favourite!

2. Which approach do you prefer when composing a track. Organic? Synthetic? Or a fusion of the two?

It often starts with a simple synthetic kind of back drop, drums & bass lines and then add live elements. I play guitar, bass and live percussion on my recordings and often enlist the help of maestro multi instrumentalist friend of mine Dan Richardson who plays all sorts of flutes (metal & bamboo) and also sax and trumpet. This gives the music a 'live' feel, a good blend of natural and synthetic mix and the unquantized human factor....

3. Do you find your music more popular in Australia or world-wide?

I would say world wide. I have sold a good amount of cd's overseas because the market for down tempo/ethno beats lovers is bigger abroad than here. Chill space at festivals is a relatively new thing at festivals here. So for a chilled music producer the opportunities to get exposure are a bit limited here....The aussies liked their music quite wild and banging...

4. You have worked in film and television soundtracks do you find this allows you to explore your tastes fully or is it more restrictive than making your own albums?

In producing your own album ,you are the decision maker ,you call the shots .you can be as indulgent as you like and explore to satisfy your heart content. With films and documentary your are dealing with the "director’, the film industry producers and directors can sometimes be very pedendic,difficult and cryptic individuals. A few years ago this 'nature/documentary' director hired me to do a soundtrack; the 'brief' was nature sounds and acoustic instruments,
I plugged away for days and was happy with the result, sent a dat tape away.....A phone call later. The director was not too impressed with the result of my 3 days recording sessions and kept saying i want the music 'big and spacious' but was not able describe his vision further....
this process went on for weeks me sending him stuff and him still not happy and feeling just lukewarm about my musical offerings....An awkward situation..
So i said, can you play me some music, what you have in mind. He then managed to play me an extract from “river dance' the Irish musical over the phone....So i hired a fiddle player and a guitar picker and anything i sent to him from then on was approved with a big yes...So working for films & doco's is trial and error, a bit restrictive at times and can be an exercise in dealing with quite eccentric characters....
but it's all good. I feel blessed spending my time following my musical passion and getting hired & paid for it!

5. Which venues/festivals would you recommend to others?

In australia I'd recommend the 'Rainbow serpent" in rugged country Victoria and 'Exodus' in the lush sub-tropical settings of northern New South Wales. I did a small tour of Canada this year and 'Diversity' on texada island and 'Lasqueti escape' on lasqueti island were very friendly and much fun!!

6. Where can people hear and purchase your music?

my latest cd 'Peyote dreaming' is available to purchase on my web sites and my space:
http://www.donpeyote.com/goods.php
http://www.myspace.com/peyotesoundsystem

Alternatively just type 'Peyote dreaming' in a Google search and you will find numerous online stores who stock the cd.

Abakus Interview

1. Being the son of the Kinks founder Dave Davies you obviously were raised in a musical background and found many influences with in the family home. Which artists or music scenes outside of that circle first attracted your attention?

Well I grew up as a teenager in London and it was the techno/trance scene from 1993 onwards which was my main influence, I loved it. I was never really a record collector in those days, I listened more to compilations and mix tapes. There were some keys albums though that definitely stood out as my soundtrack to my youth. A compilation called Reactive 10 (1995) - I loved this album so much and probably listened to it a million times back them. Journey by DJ mixed by Paul Oakenfold (1994) was also pretty sweet - and it has one of my favourite musical moments of all time -The eerie 'Possible Worlds' by The Shaman, which appears near the end of the mix. Also The Future Sound of London album Lifeforms, which was an magical masterpiece - no-one has come close since.

2. Where can people hear your music and do you have any live dates planned?

With the previous album I toured the world quite a bit playing at festivals and parties, around Europe, Japan, Russia, Australia... So now I've released the second album I'll be doing the same again. At this very moment I'm organizing a tour of America for spring 2009.

3. You had a new album "We Share The Same Dreams" out early last month. Which seems more uptempo than the previous albums blend of down-tempo, ambient, dub & acoustic styles are you expanding into new territories?

The sound of the new album is different, but it's still the same spirit - It's just created in a different period of time. The album is all upbeat dance and is influenced mostly from all the cool music that has been coming out of house/minimal/electro in the last four years, such as people like Dusty Kid, Shonky, Lindstrom, Bookshade/Mandy, Alden Tyrell, Loco Dice, Tiefschwarz, Andomat3000 and so on.. I think really these scenes have by far been the most forward thinking and progressive and there is now this really cool hybrid zeitgeist techno sound. So I guess the new album is influenced mostly by this movement in music but definitely with my own sound in there - of course it's important to keep your own personal touch.

4. Which artists are currently impressing you?

I have really eclectic taste and am not into a style of music purely because I'm into the 'culture'. In whatever genre I'm listening I just look for something really fresh and original. I'm really not into bandwagon music, and probably 99.9% of all producers today are bandwagon producers. But occasionally someone comes along and does something really fresh. I listed some artists in the preview question which fulfil this category for sure. I'm also really into the French electro producers at the moment - I really love their no nonsense approach. Most of the stuff on Edbanger Records and Recordmakers Records is pretty sweet.. And German labels like Boxer Sport and Bpitch are great for modern techno. I also love all the disco related productions on labels Environ, Clone, Eskimo.

5. What venues/clubs have inspired you over the years?

My teenage years throughout the 90's we're spent in clubs around London, and it was the electronic scene of that period which was my real influence. So it was the early trance/techno being played in places like Tyson Street, The Fridge, Battersea Power station. I think my first pivotal club was in 1994 at Megatripolis @ Heaven on the Thursday - although that meant bunking school the next day.

6. What's the best advice you've ever been given regarding writing music?

Don't be a bandwagon producer. Longevity is the key.

7. What direction do you see electronic music heading in the future?

That's pretty hard to say. Technology will always effect electronic music - and who knows what wonderful technological developments wait for us round the corner. And with it musical ideas will continue to sprout in infinite different directions, as it currently is. But although musical creativity is wild and infinite, human culture moves at a much more sluggish pace. And electronic music is very much defined by current culture, so this is the most defining aspect I think. Occasionally some new 'thing' comes along that will root a musical creative concept into a scene. Then all the bandwagon producers jump on and create enough similar sounding music to play for a whole night. And there you have a new culture of music and people and ideals, and after the initial explosion of creativity and freshness comes the mind numbing and gruelling process of watching the late adopters and laggards encroach on the scene who begin stripping it of any dignity and class it once had. Either way though change does happen and when it does it a wonderful thing. If we're talking purely from a musical perspective a common trend in electronic music is the fusion of old ideas and modern ideas, the oscillating to-and-fro from futuristic to retro and back again. And as the history of electronic music grows and expands into the future so does the possibility for fusion. Producers will keep on referencing difference eras of music whilst fusing it with the latest sound and technology. So in the future for electronic music I guess we'll just see a greater and broader oscillation between past and future ideas, some great new technology and techniques, and a whole plethora of youth cultures sprouting accordingly to changes in music to declare their status as devout followers of this new 'sound' and hence, in their eyes, the coolest people around.

Russ Davies a.k.a. Abakus

http://www.myspace.com/artistabakus

Lexus Task Interview

Interview with Kash of Canadian Electronica act Lexus Task

1. Who are the main influences in your music and why?

The main 'known' influences that people might recognize are actually Boards of Canada, some Autechre's earlier stuff, Roni Size, Saint Germain (in the house department), Thievery Corp and a few lesser known acts like Auditory Canvas.

2. Your a collective of musicians are any of you classically trained?

We are a Duo Group Collective meaning two of us. The Classical training part will be kept secret for now.

3. Where can people hear your music and are you doing any live dates?

For now myspace, in the future Beatport and Blipp.

5. Which direction do you see down-tempo/chillout music heading in the future?

I see it going in two directions - either more organic with live instrumentation, OR becoming more technical.

6. What are your favourite clubs or festivals and why?

We really enjoy the Toronto, CA scene. Lots of great clubs down there, one being the Guvernment and Blue Moon Lounge (however we havne't been there in years).

Thanks for the interview. We have privacy issues to deal with and are just starting out however in the future we will be open to a "Greater INterview".

Kash
Lexic Task
www.myspace.com/lexictask
Toronto, Canada