El Paraiso
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Astral TV is a new project from Causa Sui synth- and electronics-wiz Rasmus Rasmussen and fellow inner-space traveller Keith Canisius. On 'Crystal Shores' they create fluctuating aural landscapes, ranging from subtle and earthy to celestial and downright paranormal. Inspired in part by classic synth-scores, vintage European 'kosmische' and modern drone, the duo has created the soundtrack for a heady, sonic trip.Visit product page →
Like with the best new age music these sounds can provide solace and regenerative energies in the listener, but ultimately the moods the duo are creating are too open and ambiguous to be neatly categorized. The bright analog synths and delicate Stratocaster notes occasionally conjures images of rushing water, slowly passing cumulus and weightless, orbiting satellites.
But there are more mysterious undercurrents in this music as well - periodically pulling it into peculiar, hypnagogic realms, where ghostly digital presences awake. 'Crystal Shores' is awash in layers of tonal perfection, and while it constantly evolves, there's a unified feel to each of its gorgeous vinyl sides.
The duo has that rare ability to create a sense of familiarity without feeling like a retread. Fans of minimalism, ambient and vintage synth scores will find much to delight in in these multicoloured, rich-sounding grooves.
Tracklisting:
1. Before We Meet
2. Mirrors
3. Staying Home
4. Human
5. Synthetic Thoughts
6. It Moves
7. Sun Flares
8. Past Days
9. 0000
10. Stations
11. Welcome
12. Area S4
13. Surveillance
14. Crystal Shores -
2nd album from Danish synth-improv duo Videodrones, dives deeper their brand of throbbing synth themes from the goriest movies that never was. It's easy to hear the starting point of Videodrones: From italian composers such as Fabio Frizzi, Marcello Giombini, Riz Ortolani - or even Morricone & Alessandroni at their most industrial.Visit product page →
But Videodrones adds a touch of previously unheard madness to their Giallo-themed synth-gasms. Based largely on improvisation, Videodrones tosses and turns - it's like the thing is ALIVE: leaving slimy trail of electronic musical styles in their wake: there's toxic levels of italio disco, german kosmiche musik, new age, even some stabs at holy grails of 70's and 80's pop.
The record culminates in a Synth-proto-doom track - Nattens Hævn (Revenge of the Night): too weird to live, yet too rare to die. Videodrones improvisations are far from boring: chopped into smaller bits the album is of a suite-like nature - keeping the odd, jagged energy of improvisation, every part adds to a whole, larger narrative.
The result is a suite-like walkthru, often changing pace, dropping notes or drifting in scale. The images Videodrones convey is collectedly strangely solemn - almost uplifting at times, in their maddening state of constant synth flux.
Tracklisting:
1. The Jugular Gate
2. Maniac City
3. Institute
4. Dream Within A Dream
5. Hero
6. A Column
7. Mørkets Rædsler
8. Night Dome
9. Gate 2
10. A Blade In Your Mind
11. Domains
12. Shape Shifter
13. Nattens Hævn
