Friday, November 23, 2018

Presenting ... Sacred Space (waag_rel121) by Cousin Silas & Kevin Buckland




Of all the music Cousin Silas has released, especially on weareallghosts, I am fondest of his longform pieces. I find his Dronescapes especially fascinating because they have a versatility about them: I listen to them at work when I need to find my flow and block out a busy, open-plan office; I listen to them on the train when I want to dig into a book and block out a busy carriage; I listen to them when I need to rest and block out the busyness of my home and/or my brain; They work for me on a number of levels but, in each occasion, the intention is to escape, to block out, to evade the noise that surrounds me, that could so easily envelop me, if I allowed it to. To me these soundscapes are sacred spaces ... places I can retreat to, my sonic safe-house, so to speak.

It is with this in mind that I approach this appropriately titled collaboration between Cousin Silas and a new entrant to the waag roster, Kevin Buckland. "Sacred Spaces (waag_rel121)" is a series of ambient pieces that provide a place to retreat to ... a place to be alone and to rest and to consider. Pieces that provide respite from the 24-7 always-on culture that appears to pervade every element of our very being.

The collaboration of Cousin Silas' wide-open guitar and Kevin Buckland's equally spacious ambience creates the most wonderful of welcoming soundscapes ... unhurried & unforced, these are pieces for the soul as well as the ears, meditative pieces for taking precious time out, however it is that you do that.

As before, my thanks goes to the wonderful waag community ... for their generous support.

A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, on Archive with a lossless version available over on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

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https://archive.org/details/waag_rel121c

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Sunday, November 11, 2018

Presenting ... Flux (waag_rel120) by Matthew VandenBrook




I have a real fondness for Matthew VandenBrook and his uniquely particular (and particularly unique) version of experimental electronic music.

He pushes boundaries and, at times, challenges me within his prolific expressions ... often leaving me perplexed until (as much through exposure as epiphany) the lightbulb comes on and I get to see (hear) his music through his eyes (ears). "Flux" is such an album.

I cannot begin to describe the sounds featured on "Flux", it truly has to be heard ... to be experienced ... to be worn in. What I will say, however, is that "Flux" is most definitely in keeping with the rest of his body of work and I am proud to present it on weareallghosts.

As before, my thanks goes to the wonderful waag community ... for their generous support.

A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, over on Archive with a lossless version available here on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

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https://archive.org/details/waag_rel120

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Saturday, November 3, 2018

Presenting ... The Pleiades and other Astral Overtones (waag_rel119) by George L Smyth




After the warm reception of "Winterfylleth (waag_rel111)", I was eager to work with George L Smyth again and was delighted when he submitted this five-track album that was inspired by the heavenly bodies that easily define our concept of space: we look up in the night sky and can see the Bears or Orion's Belt, and in doing so we dream of what it would be like to be there.

Space has always captured our imagination as humans ... the pioneering spirit of adventure, the unspoilt beauty and the unforgiving environment, that otherness that we so desperately seek ... enhanced by the wonderful imagery produced by the likes of NASA and the futuristic vision of our favourite sci-fi writers and illustrators.

And it is with this inspiration that George L Smyth has created such a wonderful album. "The Pleiades and other Astral Overtones (waag_rel119)" is a fitting addition to the weareallghosts body of work and to Smyth's canon too, an hour or so of the most delightful escapism where the listener is transported to the very bodies the tracks are titled after.

This is truly music of the spheres ... of the constellations ... of the planets and moons above and around us. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.

As before, my thanks goes to Cousin Silas, Kevin Lyons & Tim Jones, and to Warren Daly … Adrian Nicholls ... Drew Miller ... and the wonderful waag community ... for their generous support. 
A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, over on Archive with a lossless version available here on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

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