Hi folks. I decided to do something a little bit different for this next Non-Music Roundup. Here is a collection of albums that I love, ranging from 2006-2021, and some words about each of them. Just to be clear, I do not consider these albums to be ''old' in any way - all good art is timeless and relevant... but most music bloggers don't like writing about albums that are more than a few months old...
With this retrospective post, I just wanted to shine a spotlight on some great sound art albums from past years that may have been forgotten and/or ignored.
As usual - if you like what you see/hear, please considering supporting these tremendous artists & labels by buying their albums and following them on Bandcamp and/or social media.
Anyway, here it is - arranged from the oldest to the most recent...
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Olhon - Sinkhole
(Eibon Records, 2006)
Olhon is the collaborative duo of Massimo Magrini and Zairo from Italy. Their sound mainly consisted of field recordings made in special (and often extreme) locations - underwater, inside deep caves, etc... which were carefully processed and structured by both members.
'Olhon' is an album created using original field recordings taken (mainly underwater) in the "Pozzo del Merro"- the world's deepest sinkhole. In this album you will hear lots of low rumbling drones, huge cavernous reverberations, dark mysterious ambience, ominous howling sounds, long resounding echoes, atmospheric atonal noise and all sorts of unsettling audio phenomena. Like the sinkhole itself - these ten compositions will suck you in and take you down to the bleakest depths. But despite the disturbing soundscapes and frightening location of the recordings - it's actually pretty relaxing to listen to, and totally mesmerizing... I love it.
'Olhon' is an eerie and rather frightening album of deep cavernous drones, environmental dark ambience and gloomy sound art. The pitch-black atmospheres and haunting sound design makes for an unnerving yet utterly immersive listening experience.
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anne-f jacques - sable ou sel
(atrito-afeito, 2015)
Anne-F Jacques is a sound artist based in Montréal, Canada. She is interested in amplification, oblique interactions between materials and construction of various contraptions and idiosyncratic systems. Her particular focus is on low technology, trivial objects and unpolished sounds.
‘sable ou sel’ is a mini-album consisting of two 11-minute long sound compositions. These compositions are comprised of segments of mechanical-sounding polyrhythms, crunchy textures, mesmerising vibrations, frictional scrapes, muted tones, hissing drones, fluttering machinery and all kinds of miniature grinding sounds that are constantly shifting, changing and evolving as the tracks progress.
This is music that requires close listening, patience and a quiet surrounding environment to fully appreciate the subtleties and intricate details of these pieces. I can’t claim to know the source of these sounds, but Jacques is well-known for building her own rotary devices and aurally capturing the interactions between various small objects using unique recording techniques, resulting in layer upon layer of wonderful friction and dissonance.
‘sable ou sel’ is a beautifully hypnotic album of churning rotary sounds, tiny mechanical noises and atonal ambience. Jacques' minimalistic compositional approach, along with her intimate mic’ing methods and exquisite sound sculpting techniques makes for an utterly immersive and spellbinding listening experience.
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Natalia Beylis - Scchh...phh
(Chocolate Monk / self-released, 2016)
Natalia Beylis is a highly-prolific Irish sound artist & musician whose work revolves somewhere between sonic story-teller, composer and multi-instrumental musician. In her recordings and performances she layers seemingly incongruous sounds atop of each other to spawn strange juxtapositions and garbled parallels.
'Scchh...phh' is an album consisting of two lengthy sound collages comprised of gathered tape recordings made throughout the artist's lifespan - from early childhood into adulthood...
'They Eat Them Head Fucking First' begins with a soft blanket of ambient hiss, and then a rather unsettling (but amusing) spoken introduction/warning about the tape you're about to listen to... with the accompaniment of other fragmented vocalizations and child-like wails... which suddenly becomes a monologue in Mandarin, I think? The rest of this composition is filled with the absurd and haunting sounds of distant explosions, rumbling thunder, religious sermons, sweet chirping birdsong, howling animals, family gatherings, lapping sea waves, bizarre spoken word segments, locomotive sounds, manipulated frequencies, snippets of wildlife documentary narration, warped old-timey music, clanging bells, murmured conversations, a pig oinking (?), unnerving growls and lots of other overlapping/interweaving layers of found sounds and strange fragmented tape recordings.
'Kukalka, Kukalka' begins with layers of crackling textures, fractured speech in both English and Russian (or some other Slavic language), distant choral singing and airy environmental ambience. Then you will hear a series of broken radio transmissions, beautiful bird noises, arguing children, atonal hissing, windy weather sounds, exotic animal calls, garbled television broadcasts and a plethora of other weird shit that gradually broke my brain.
'Scchh...phh' is a bizarre and fascinating album of raw abstract audio collaging, warped tape manipulations, demented musique concrète and avant-garde sound art. A freaky and unsettling yet strangely mesmerizing listening experience.
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Abby Lee Tee - Herbert's Archive
(Dinzu Artefacts, 2017)
Abby Lee Tee (a.k.a Fabian Holzinger) is an Austrian muscian & field recordist that has been releasing a steady stream of constantly-evolving solo material since 2009, nurturing a passion for field recordings and unusual instruments. His fascination for the divisions and crossovers between noise and music, as well as nature and culture, can be seen in his work with installations, sound-walks, sound design for theatre and audiovisual projects.
'Herbert's Archive' is an album consisting of two sound collages. These collages are comprised of ''obscure sounds performed by Asian small-clawed otters, corncrakes and other fauna, interwoven with gurgling waterpipes, sizzling streams and underwater percussion.'' The blurb alone had me intrigued...
'Repository I' begins with some crackling textures, clucking hens and other birdsong, which is soon accompanied by the sound of otters purring, whining, squealing, and rapidly scratching away...while the listener is being serenaded by the soft gurgling and trickling of stream water. You will also hear a series of percussive knocks on some sort of shimmering, steel, gong-like object, and different electronic manipulation techniques employed by the artist, giving the piece a kind of rhythmic and hypnotic quality.
Towards the end of the first half, a layer of swirling ethereal ambience emerges out of the mix, tinting the soundscape with a slightly surreal dream-like atmosphere...
'Repository II' begins with the incessant caw of a corncrake, ominous rumbles of thunder, muted crackling sounds and the sweet atonal ambience of a babbling brook. Throughout the rest of the composition, you will hear hollow wooden percussive bangs, beautiful watery gurgles, scratching noises, manipulated birdsong, the knocking of tiny underwater pipes, and more guttural otter sounds. The various nasal grunts, chuckles and snorts are so fascinating to listen to...
'Herbert's Archive' is a rich and captivating album of intimate field recordings, delicate textures, environmental ambience and avant-garde audio experimentation. The artist's exquisite sound collaging techniques makes for a soothing and wonderfully meditative listening experience
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Kamran Sedeghi - Loss Less
(LINE Imprint, 2020)
Kamran Sadeghi is an American (Iranian-born) producer and composer of electronic music based in New York who is constantly calibrating his creative process through multiple disciplines such as scoring for film, music for choreography, live performance, sound and video art and left-field club music. An autodidact who uses sound as a sculptural material and electronic instruments to create new worlds.
'Loss Less' is an album consisting of two longform sound compositions (one original, one rework) comprised of acoustic recordings taken from inside Satsop - an abandoned American nuclear reactor turned artistic space. You can read the full backstory at the Bandcamp link below...
It begins with a pattern of spacious singular tones of a melody, ringing out with desolate echoes and long tunnel-like reverberations, while a deep low cavernous rumble emerges slowly out of the mix and paints the backdrop of this eerie barren environment. This is soon accompanied by wind-like whooshes of atonal noise and distorted feedback.
As the piece progresses, you will realize that this melody repeats itself throughout the entire composition, but it's obvious that it's not just some looped sample - this is performed organically. You can hear slight variations in the melody, as it's being played at different speeds with the overall intensity ebbing and flowing. The more the piece continues, the less clarity there is in the musicality. It gets murkier and murkier... it almost feels like you're sinking deeper and deeper into the dark recesses of this large ominous, hollowed-out, artificial structure.
The lonely sounds resonate and richocet off the walls and surfaces, eventually disappearing into the air, while if you listen closely - you will hear various environmental sounds occurring, such as the twittering of passing birds, and raindrops falling through the upper hole of the nuclear cooling tower.
'Loss Less' is a tense and ethereal sonic exploration of unique industrial architecture, and the natural elements that surround it. I don't really understand all the technicalities of how this album was created, but what I do know is that Sadeghi's sound design and the acoustic ecology of this piece is phenomenal, and makes for a such a wonderfully haunting and atmospheric listening experience.
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Vanessa Rossetto - self-care
(Unfathomless, 2020)
Vanessa Rossetto is an American composer, improviser and painter. She uses primarily chamber instrumentation, field recordings, electronics and a wide array of different objects exploring them through extended and traditional techniques and other methods of her own devising.
'self-care' is an album consisting of one (almost) hour-long sound composition, based on recordings that the artist captured during a 3-day stay in San Francisco, in a rented room.
It begins with (what I gather to be) the sound of singular drops of water falling into a glass, or directly into a sink... creating a repetitive pinging noise, while in the background you can hear someone quietly moving around, along with the faint hum of distant traffic and familiar urban ambience. After a few minutes, you can overhear a snippet of telephone conversation (on loudspeaker) between the artist and someone who cares for them. After some more shuffling sounds, the entire audio environment changes abruptly and we're suddenly out on the streets of San Fransciso. You will hear the chatter of lively human conversation, whooshing traffic, whirring engines, upbeat music blaring through tinny speakers, the rumble of public transportation,wailing sirens, windy howls, tunnel-like rumbles, eerie environmental ambience, haunting drones and a variety of other identifiable and not-so-identifiable sounds that drift in and out of this ambiguous noisescape... before we're back with Rossetto in her quiet room, where she makes phone calls, does menial tasks, and sings to herself in the shower...
The composition ends much like the way it begins - with a repetitive lone drip of water, while the outside world keeps on turning...
'self-care' is a strange and beautiful sonic meditation on the relationship one has with themself - alone in a rented room, and out in the noisy, crowded, bustling streets of a huge urban metropolis. The way this long sprawling piece bounces back and forth between the quiet indoor environment and hectic outdoor environments makes for an immersive and poignant listening experience.
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Heather Frasch - with objects
(Glistening Examples, 2021)
Heather Frasch is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic concert music, performer/composer (flute, laptop/electronics & sonic objects), and creator of interactive sound installations and digital instruments. Through the creation of complex timbres, the usage of unstable notation systems, and electronics her work explores notions of fragility and stillness within an intermedia sonic arts practice. Influenced by the dis-embodiment of acousmatic music practices, she investigates the re-embodiment of sound and the intimacy between humans and their technological objects.
'with objects' is an album consisting of 4 pieces - two longform compositions and two shorter ones. It's worth your while reading the artist's statement on the Bandcamp link below regarding the artistic vision and recording methods behind this album.
It's an album of very low level sound pieces that definitely require a quiet listening environment, and a clear head to fully appreciate. It begins with a very faint, distant, low, slow, shimmering drone emerging out of the background, while Frasch paints the foreground with tiny subtle textures and tones made from various small objects. Throughout the rest of the longform pieces you will hear little clicking sounds, scrapes, rustling noises (which almost sounds like bits of plastic or aluminum foil), frantic rattles, tiny mechanical clacks, high-frequency digital bleeps, squealing sustained harmona drones, winding springs and dissonant tones weaving in and out of each other... while ominous machine-like drones help create a rather dark unsettling atmosphere.
In the shorter pieces - the audio environment completely changes. You will hear field recordings of passing traffic, familiar street sounds and urban noise, along with some wooden percussive clacks. As the street noise dies down, you will hear more frantic vibrations made by kinetic sound sculptures.
'with objects' is an album of meditative atmospheres, quiet drones, minimalistic noise experimentation and fascinating sound sculpting. A strange, soothing and immersive listening experience.
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Kelly Ruth - Simulacra
(Pseudo Laboratories, 2021)
Kelly Ruth is a Canadian artist from Winnipeg, currently living in Edmonton in Treaty Six territory. Kelly has worked as a textile dyer and painter for dance, theatre and film companies across Canada primarily working for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
In performance, she uses contact microphones and effects pedals on her weaving loom and other related tools to create ambient and noise music.
'Simulcra' is an album of surreal soundscapes and abstract noise experimentation. It begins with the sound of muted and manipulated seaside field recordings - churning waves, liquidy sloshes, screaming gulls... intertwined with some ambiguous crunching, squeaking and scraping noises. Throughout the rest of the album you will hear virtual rhythmic loops, mechanical rattles and scrapes, hypnotic beats, dreamy wordless vocalizations, ominous grinding, mysterious reverberations, cavernous echoes, fluttering textures, watery electronic blips, fragile ethereal ambience, and a vast array of various abstract noises and sonic abnormalities. The loom-generated mechanical rhythms, immersive drones, airy vocals, eerie static and surreal noises create these vast, vacant sci-fi soundscapes to completely lose yourself within...
'Simulcra' is a unique and gorgeous album of avant-garde sound art, haunting musique concrète and abstract noisescapes. Its atmospheres are confusing, weird and certainly unsettling... but it makes for a rich, evocative and spellbinding listening experience.
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claire rousay - a moment in st louis and a moment at the beach
(American Dreams, 2021)
claire rousay is an experimental artist/musician based in Los Angeles. Her music zeroes in on personal emotions and the minutiae of everyday life -voicemails, haptics, environmental recordings, stopwatches, whispers and conversations - exploding their significance.
rousay has released a large variety of works in a large variety of musical and non-musical styles. 'a moment in st louis and a moment at the beach' is one of her non-musical works, consisting of two fairly long-form compositions, with almost identical durations.
'a moment in st louis' begins with layers of audio crackle (yes!) against a backdrop of airy, outdoor, environmental noise. Then you will hear the sounds of running water, very likely from a shower, or possibly a rivulet, along with the subtle tiny rustling of (what sounds to me like) aluminum foil, a deep sustained drone and shifting noise.
About halfway through the compositon, you will hear bare minimalistic (and slightly off-tune) piano notes ringing out, giving the piece a rather fragile and poignant air. As the track progresses, the tape hiss becomes more broken and fractured and you will hear fragments of a lone voice, cutting softly through the mix. All this ends with the fading of fuzzy textures and an eerie quietude...
'a moment at the beach' begins with the soothing sounds of waves crashing on the beach, and the familiar cawing of seagulls and faint human voices in the distance. There's also a very subtle drone in the background. Whether this is natural sound phenomena or not, I'm not sure. It could almost be the engine of a distant helicopter or rotary drone. There's such a beautiful relaxing ambience to this piece, which you naturally find when you're at the beach anyway - especially a quiet beach. The waves on this particular beach are slow, heavy and dramatic...
Around midway through the track, a swirling muted organ tone enters the foreground of the soundscape. Maybe this was what was making the helicopter/drone noise earlier in the track? Now and again the note changes, adding a bit more depth and richness to this already lush, dreamy atmosphere. The discipline and restraint that rousay shows in the musical aspect of these pieces is incredible. And just as you start to get lost within the sound of this strange and gorgeous environment, the track ends abruptly.
'a moment in st louis and a moment at the beach' is a gorgeous album of tranquil field recordings, subtle ambience and exquisite sound art. It's strange yet comforting, abstract yet emotional... and makes for such a satisfying listening experience.
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Porya Hatami & MonoLogue - La Commune
(MIDIRA Records, 2022)
MonoLogue (aka Marie Rose) is an Italian composer, musician and sound designer. Her work moves between soundtracks, sound design for TV series and other sound experiences.
Porya Hatami is an experimental sound artist based in Sanandaj, Iran. His compositions explore the balance between electronics and environmental sounds, utilizing processed acoustic and electronic sources. and field recordings.
'La Commune' is their collaborative album, consisting of one longform experimental sound composition. It begins with layers of granular synthesis, crackling noises and puttering drones. Then you will start to hear fragments of glitchy electronica, high wailing synth notes, ghostly ambience, eerie vibrations, unnerving dissonance, percussive bangs, crunchy textures, atmospheric reverberations, fuzzy swells of distortion, ominous pulsations, environmental audio phenomena and lots of other mysterious sonic abstractions. It ebbs and flows like a living being. and leaves you feeling like you've been on some long, dark, ambiguous journey.
'La Commune' is an immersive and highly-captivating album of eerie atmospheres, steel drones, heavily-processed field recordings and haunting sound experimentation. The whole piece is so abstract and powerful - it bristles with tension and a strange nameless energy which makes for a unique and engulfing listening experience.
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