RichRock : Running Free

This is a review of the recently listened to Airways Nova Teeth, by the Drone Forest collective.

This is drone ambient. Very nice drone ambient. Not the sort which seems to focus on smooth sounds, boring long textures, or tunes where nothing happens (except someone hitting a key and pressing record), but this has texture to it. Even in some cases has tune, sounds of variable pitch, discernable differences.
This album(?) has three tracks : 1:thast wayheaven, 2:wairstay haven, 3:rayweave save. With a total runtime of around 48 minutes, it’s listenable in a lunch hour and can totally spook your afternoon!
The scope of these tracks go from dirty drone to evocative atmospheres, and in such a way that they never seem to get boring. It would be interesting to understand the sources for these sounds, as they seem to be almost human in places.
This is quality drone music with a tinge of darkness to it. It gets high marks from me, and reignites my interest in drone ambient as a valid, interesting form of music.
More on Drone Forest can be found here.

Well, it’s the new year and resolutions are made - do we really know what Resolution really means? This is a pretty cool descriptions pulled from Dictionary.com - 4.the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
Why am I even going on about this? Well, I want to be fitter, and lose the belly. People have mentioned this to me, even from circles I never expected. How? Well, by starting the RCAF’s 5bX plan, which I went on before, and with some success, before cycling became my occupation. I would love to be fit again, and I am announcing it on my blog as yet another thing to keep track of…
So you on the interweb are my witnesses, and I will keep posting blogs to let you know how I get on…
On the music front, currently hitting the playlists are 3tronik, from Sutemos, and due to hit my earlobes in an ambient/noise kind of level are Drone Forest, but I”ll be reviewing once I’ve downloaded the collection… It’s late and electro music from 3tronik is starting to cut through my wine-addled head… Time for some zZz’s and then wake up to some 5bX
Peace out people.

I’ve just got back from Liverpool (well, actually Birkenhead, but more people know Liverpool, and it’s only across the River Mersey!), and having spent a nice few days with family up there, seeing some for the first time in years, it was all rather excellent. If a little quick. I got some decent presents, with some notable exceptions :
Renaissance - excellent french animation.
The Matrix Ultimate Box Set - I had all the DVD before, but the price and content sold me.
Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig tine set - this only had volume 7, but a free t-shirt and a toy Tachikoma was worth it. Shame I can’t watch the DVD until I’ve got the rest!
I also managed to get some photography done, finished a roll of B+W film, and a roll of colour. I would love to go back in the summer to get the Liverpool skyline, as I think it would look awesome as a multi-display wallpaper.
I had an interesting CD too - Layering Buddha by Robert Henke - which uses as a sound source a device called ‘Buddha Machine’, a strange electronic device which emanates drones at certain pitches. The inherent lack of quality of sound and performance due to cheap electronics means no two devices play exactly the same. So this guy then layers different machines to create these awesome ambient drones. Well worth seeking as a paid CD.
Soon I’ll be posting what is in my opinion the best music I’ve heard all year, plus the best movies, and what to look forward to next year in the world of ‘interesting music’ and ‘interesting film’.
Until then, chill out people!

Altus, a great musician of wonderful talent, has released a new album for download, called ‘Winter Embrace II’. But I warn you, it’s a pay-for mp3 release. I will be happily buying this release soon, and if it is anywhere near as good as Winter Embrace (available free), then I will be very happy. Review here when I get it. BTW, if you haven’t heard of Altus, he is a great ambient musician, creating a lot of very orchestral-like ambiences, and my personal favourites are : 24 Hours, The Elements : Air and Black Hole. You can download his tracks from his website at : Altus Music

Well, I’m now writing this with my computer having had some pretty major surgery. Both my hard drives decided to pretty much fail at the same time. I haven’t had much time to check the other disk, so I finally upgraded to a couple of SATA drives, one 80gb and one 160gb. I think that’ll be enough to get more netlabel music on my PC! Of course, most of my current collectin got wiped out, but having a massive cold allowed me to stay in and feel miserable whilst ripping my extensive CD collection (again) to mp3.
‘But you’re a Linux user, you should be using ogg’ I hear you cry. Well, shoot me down in flames, but ogg’s are, well, not very good. Especially for ambient music. Mp3 seems to hold definition of sound longer, which is great for some of the soundscapes that I listen to. Plus, how many mp3 players out there support ogg formats? Answers above 1 on a postcard please.

Well, my blogger account is open again, I still have a cold, and I haven’t finished christmas shopping. I have to pack for Liverpool by friday, and get ready because some friends are coming to dinner tomorrow.
Argh!

By the way : Spheric Lounge have had a few sessions since I last mentioned them - link on the right. Worth checking out!