lost in a sea of sound

Take any moment in the day or night then turn the dial down on all of the jobs and responsibilities. As the chatter of routines dims, plush rhythms and ambient drift smoothly take precedence. Buried under all duties and distractions, these sounds are always chiming in cadence. Ki Oni compositions connect the circuit. What rests inside each conscious is helped in a form of deep breathing. The spirit given a glass bottle of cool spring water, these are refreshing sounds that can be unfurled at any time. Like all sonic waves, most pleasently every one in the path will gain similar rejuvenation.

You Made It Out Of The Forest Alive is Ki Oni's newest release on the Atlantic Rhythms label. Four lengthy sublime melters. Each holding car keys for late night drives and compatibility for inner day reflections. These sounds sparkle, diving deep into thoughts and sending needed ripples to disrupt all surface tension. With the amount of time Ki Oni spends on each track, full cycles in sonic de…

A sonic offering divided by four on the new Towner EP. This one plays quick, a seamless navigation finishing up before understanding follows suite. Listen again to hear the depth, song writing, singing, music playing, all distorted and twisted enough to send disjointed spasms of neurons down to the toe for tapping. In the current age of so much music and the constant cloud casting shadows of discontent, thinking the next thing we hear is going to be better forever looms. Bands like Towner are going to get a few seconds of listeners sampling a track and then trudging on, there are no catchy tricks or manipulations to suffice the insatiable needs of the "great sound discoverers". This is an unfortunate situation, that seems to be growing with generations. Getting off track....

I am a big fan of Crush Grove Records. They do not pump out tons of releases, more like tapping a maple tree for syrup. So when a new release comes out, it is still special. Moving forward... The Towner …

As the information was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, the small hamlet locally called Sutton with Shopland, was thriving with commerce and life. Over the course of nearly a millennia, this area has lost most of the acclaim it once had. Once the names disappear from the map, only word of mouth can carry on. This lasts through a few generations and eventually remains know only by local custodians of history. The information here is to relay the fact Shopland is a real place, maybe not called out on a current map or connected to numerous pages of information on the internet, but real in the hearts of those who still have historical knowledge.

A copy of this Strategic Tape Reserve cassette was sent to one of the few remaining members of this very small village. This individual is a descendant of Thomas Rickett, a Shopland resident circa 1874. Their name to be withheld until further investigation of the this multifaceted composition of various artists can fully be examined. It was …

Seeded Plain vibrates the earth. A giant amalgam of intense creations taking various strides and fluctuating paces. With each step, the complete weight of this combined entity sending concussive waves through the core. Appendages clank, rattle, insides gurgle and spew, another motion forward causing similar but alternate reactions. In some distant context there is rhythm, not as it's currently understood, but a complicated pattern stemming from two spirits. Sounds emanating with currents of energy, fueled by unadulterated creativity. The desire to build and compose what can not be mapped, a place journeyed to only once. Flying Falling is the recorded memory, an fortunately it can be played again.

Bryan Day and Jay Kreimer are the duo comprising Seeded Plain. They have been working on this project for over ten years, steadily releasing their sonic pliability. This is just the content of both Bryan and Jay working together. A very small sum of individual and other cooperative projec…

Noa Ver & Zach D’Agostino returning with their warbled sonic mite. Aural locksmiths picking their way through the pop tune gate. A task more delicate than Sea Moss has qualifications for. Their forcefulness is like a hand resting on the T-bar of an explosive charging box. Only two positions, pensive anticipation and the full plunge downward. After detonation, sonic dust and tune fragments dissipate, spirited grooves can be clearly heard. This is the special quality of Sea Moss, raw rhythms surfacing under the heavy pressure of ballistic creative energy.

Bidet Dreaming is like a fever, listening to the first three tracks causes thoughts to race and an anxious uneasy feeling. Then you catch it, "Appease the Peas, Please" is a mesmerizing unprocessed gem. Both Noa and Zach showing weighted rhythmic vibes. Like a broken break dancing robot trying to show vintage moves to B-Boys and B-Girls. There is something uniquely special stemming from the roots. Of the eleven tracks on …

Truly amazing how sounds can be so far out there but still have tethers to be completely fascinating and a pleasure to listen to. Vagabond Laws by Rrill Bell is a fine example of this thought. Over thirty minutes of mystery, a drone that is exploding in sonic slow motion. Making this even more boggling, is the fact these two selections are recorded live in Bremen and Budapest. Maybe seeing Rrill Bell perform would be beneficial in understanding the origins of his work. By not witnessing this and only hearing what has been recorded, the allure of these sounds is even greater. So there is a trade off, and in this case, a good one for those spending time with this cassette.

The two pieces included on Vagabond Laws have cohesion with each other, but are two separate entities. The biggest difference between side one and side two is the drone like maniacal synthesizer and then the absence of it. On the first side Rrill Bell takes his mesmerizing array of sounds and touches them with the ton…

The deep groove of these sounds come from a future time. A place where cosmic wisps speed past, sending tingles through the consciousness. Rhythmic bass lines propelling the fascination, reaching giant totems that part aside, opening to a weightless jungle. A place of beauty, alien flora and fauna living within a gem of the emptiness. The sojourn touches roots here. This could be the fabled Eden, where tranquility gains its meaning. But with peacefulness, a feeling of uneasiness also lingers. The duality of all things brings awareness and knowledge. Serenity ushers us away, smoothly and delightfully, a round trip journey that needs to be taken many times.

Ron Thomas and John Swana must channel tunes from afar. After repeated listens, still not sure there are descriptive words ready for what is being heard. Four lengthy tracks, the first delivering listeners to Serenity and the last bringing those anointed back. The journey pushes forward with stellar beats, sublime bass and trailing d…

Listen deeply, through more than half a century of amplified sounds. Storm Ross inking a point on this timeline, connecting what has come before to the unheard future. This composition titled "Home", feels far from these origins. More attuned to the distant stage of a stadium concert or the sounds filling corridors of a guitar Hall of Fame exhibit. A complete plunge into technical virtuosity, Storm Ross' only respite are polar moments of proficient classical interludes. These sounds are the inner workings of ticking consciousness, countless components working together connecting heritage and imparting energy.

Recorded at home, denoted as a living room romance in eight parts, all over the course of forty minutes. Maybe the home theme is extremely fitting for the style Storm Ross conveys. His ability, creativeness and technique are founded in many many hours practicing and discovering. "Sam Ascends The Invisible Path" is a track that exemplifies this…

Ears straining to hear what almost sounds like meditative flute music from somewhere up the hill. Don't concentrate and stay in one place to long, there are a couple of fellows up there dressed in robes, kicking rocks down and laughing. Their strange chant or mantra gets caught in thoughts, something about the number two. More mysterious and enthralling sonic bliss, then some heavy boulders rattle the consciousness. If there was only a way up there, to be close to the oracle of understanding. There is a deep rooted feeling this would be to no avail, the two playing instruments would be beyond comprehension. Another slide of aural disturbance sweeps any ideas of this epiphany down with it, a reflection lasting for a brief second before the landslide.

Fuck Lungs with fourteen tracks, all two minute long. These sounds are so diverse, the two minute listening realization gets lost in rapid bombardment of selections. Curt Oren and Joe Hess let go of the sonic fire hose. The massive wei…

In 2005 Hurricane Wilma turned in a north eastern direction and headed towards the Florida peninsula. Living in the north part of central Florida, there was serious concern since this was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Also Hurricane Charlie had battered the area the previous year, so the memory was still vivid. As Wilma made the trek across the southern Gulf of Mexico another meteorological event was occurring. A cold front was moving down across the states. The morning started off overcast and humid, moisture associated with the tropical low.
As the day moved on, a battle unfolded in the sky above. Patches of blue sky opened and dispersed. Within hours, the clear sky had gained area, now fast moving clouds and cooler temperatures took stage. Have never seen this before, time of day, location, the atmospheric conditions, all variables coming together. Seems like a side tracked opening paragraph for a description on Ross Malcolm Boyd's Clouds co…

The manipulation of traditional sound causes an infinite array of responses. The most common is just turning it off or leaving the room. This would be for patterns or harmonies that are not quickly understood and immediately enjoyable. Where does the path of removal or extraction lead? To classic rock music still being played on the radio for fifty years, country and rap music caught in a time capsule that allows only subtle changes. Listeners press the arrow for the next song, thinking there is something better than the time-worn piece they are hearing now.... Another overplayed track always on cue. And the repackaging of seventies soft rock as Yacht Rock, that is brilliant.  

Colin Andrew Sheffield and James Eck Rippie probably listen to some of the style of music for-mentioned above, we all do. However the creative path they have chosen has little to do with it. Their sounds push on the consciousness, asking for patience and endurance. These tones and anti rhythms are…