Presenting ... Dronescape 048 (waag_drs048) by Cousin Silas

It's been a while.

So much has happened since the last Dronescape, back in January. WAAG has been on something of a hiatus ... it wasn't anything that was necessarily intended but, looking back, it was certainly something that was needed.

I've been doing this netlabel malarkey for just over 10 years ... and it was time for a break.

I am glad, however, to break this break with the 48th dronescape from Cousin Silas ... a musician whose music remains a constant in my life. It is, like those before it, a worthy addition to Cousin Silas' collection of Dronescapes on waag and a welcome addition to my collection on my iPhone ... a vibrant, glacial piece that speaks of the liminal spaces that can only be found when we stop moving and become still.

I hope you find solace in this piece.

Please Note:
weareallghosts is funded through the money we receive for albums and dronescapes such as this. For us to realistically continue to put out this level of quality in the quantity that we do, we need to levy a small charge for some of our releases. Please help out by buying the dronescape.

Presenting ... Circular Dwell (waag_rel154) by Jaime Munárriz

I have this idea of frozen time that haunts me.

This was the opening sentence when Jaime Munárriz approached me with a piece of music he had recorded. It goes without saying that I was intrigued.

He went on to say it was, in part, inspired by a long piece of music by Steve Reich, entitled Somnium, and then describe his recording process: he recorded "Circular Dwell" in one take and would add little elements of processed guitar to the piece during the recording ... he kept on going for the whole 78 minutes ... people would be around him, call at the door, ring the phone, but he kept recording, isolated ... and yet not alone.

"Circular Dwell (waag_rel154)" is a fascinating piece ... one that starts, and stops, abruptly. It is dark and unnerving and yet deeply enthralling.

I found it a compelling listen.

- Thomas

Presenting ... Dronescape 047 (waag_drs047) by Cousin Silas

On the second of January this year, I took an overnight coach from Glasgow to London with my youngest daughter. Miriam had booked to see the Harry Potter Studio Tour on the third of January and was intending on going with friends, not her old dad. But her friends could no longer make it and I, without really thinking about it, said I'd go with her. 

I totally loved it when I got there ... the Tour is fantastic and London is such a vibrant place to be. The coach journey, however, was something else. 

What gave me some comfort as we sped down to London (and then back up overnight from the fourth) was Cousin Silas' Dronescapes. I have a playlist of 039 to 046 on my iPhone, and I listened to them as I drifted in and out of sleep. 

Dronescape 047 (waag_drs047) is a worthy addition to Cousin Silas' collection of Dronescapes on waag and a welcome addition to my collection on my iPhone ... a vibrant, glacial piece that speaks of the liminal spaces found in the cold, quiet dawn and the dark, mysterious dusk. 

I hope you find solace in this piece. 

Please Note: 
weareallghosts is funded through the money we receive for albums and dronescapes such as this. For us to realistically continue to put out this level of quality in the quantity that we do, we need to levy a small charge for some of our releases. Please help out by buying the dronescape. 

Presenting ... Music For The Dark Days (waag_rel153) by EISENLAGER MARIANI

 What better way to start 2022 than with "Music For The Dark Days" ... an EP from the collaborative partnership of electronic musicians EISENLAGER and Sergio Mariani aka EISENLAGER MARIANI.

"Music For The Dark Days" features four exceptionally beautiful ambient electronic tracks that expertly convey the dark days of winter ... the cold, biting wind and incessant, uncomfortable darkness ... the beating of your heart as move slowly, struggling with deep snow ... that sound of silence as the snow carpets the world around you ... all expressed in the merging of two minds into one sound. I honestly don't know where EISENLAGER ends and Sergio Mariani begins (and vice versa) ... and that is such a good thing!

"Music For The Dark Days" is a wonderful start to the year, one that I will come back to over the weeks and months to come. I hope you will come to cherish it too.

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

- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel153

Weareallghosts · Music For The Dark Days (waag_rel153) by EISENLAGER MARIANI

Presenting ... "The Mist Itself Breathes (waag_rel152)" by Er Go

 

It's been a while since our last release and I wanted to ensure that we finished the year with this wonderful longform piece from er go.

It's been a tough couple of months for me personally and I can only thank Eric Goldman aka er go for his patience, having initially contacted me back in late September.

It seems almost fitting to release this album a week after the Winter Solstice ... for as we climb out of the darkness physically, we do so metaphorically too. The worst is behind us and we can look to brighter days ahead.

As for er go's latest on weareallghosts, "The Mist Itself Breathes" ... it is a wonderfully immersive longform ambient piece that reminds me of William Basinski's "The Disintegration Loops".

"The Mist Itself Breathes" doesn't require or demand your attention but it does reward your attentiveness ... it rewards you if you allow it in ... if you allow it to envelope and surround you.

Please put on some headphones and let the music in ... I certainly didn't regret it when I first listened to it.

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

- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel152

Presenting ... Dronescape 046 (waag_drs046) by Cousin Silas

 

It's been over a year since we had the last Dronescape from Cousin Silas ... and in that time he's been very busy expanding his body-of-work over on his Bandcamp page (cousinsilas1.bandcamp.com) as well as with his "...and friends" collaborations here on weareallghosts.

I do love his longform pieces and continue to listen regularly to the Dronescapes he has released here ... as well as the Emporium drone series that he self-publishes. 

Nothing beats a continuous, unbroken stream of music for concentration and flow ... especially when working from home. I find longform audio to be very engaging and Dronescape 046 is no exception: waves of sound ... light, airy and free ... gently envelop the listener and provide a simply timeless place to be. 

Please take some time out to listen to Cousin Silas' latest Dronescape, I doubt you will regret it. I certainly haven't. 

Please Note: 

weareallghosts is funded through the money we receive for albums and dronescapes such as this. For us to realistically continue to put out this level of quality in the quantity that we do, we need to levy a small charge for some of our releases. Please help out by buying the dronescape. 

That said, if you aren’t able to then please note a 320kbps version of this release is available over on Archive for free. 

https://archive.org/details/waag_drs046

Presenting ... "Helene (waag_rel151)" by asleepinggiant

Sometimes music evokes feelings and feelings in turn evoke music. I have always tried to put as much of my feelings as possible into my music. I want to tell stories or rather make untold stories heard. 

This whole album is based around death, loss, grief and despair. While most of the tracks were made a few months ago, after the untimely passing of my mother I felt I needed to make some more music just to try and cope with the situation. This how the title track and "We are all ghosts" came into place. The latter of those tracks features a short poem by Thomas Mathie which I also included in a farewell letter to Mum. 

Helene was my mother's middle name and so I felt it was appropriate to name the album after her. It features a very reduced setup, consisting of Android apps, my electric guitar, field recordings of a nearby forest or my cat's purring as well as my air conditioning. 

I'm sure my mother wouldn't have liked my music itself but she would be quite content with me doing what I like and maybe being there for others as well. 

Thanks for everything, Mum. 07.01.1959 – 25.08.2021 

-Ben 

---- 

When Ben Room approached me with a demo, I was intrigued. I had recently reconnected with Ben and was interested in hearing what he had composed. I was absolutely delighted to note the album he had sent on hit the right spot in terms of what I look for with weareallghosts and emphatically agree to release what he had submitted. 

Then tragedy struck and Ben's mother passed away. I was rather moved by the tribute Ben gave his mother and, inspired, I penned a short poem for him as a way to give my condolences. Not only did Ben read this poem at the Service of Remembrance held for his mother, he has incorporated it into the album you have in front of you, "Helene (waag_rel151)". 

We all handle death and loss and grief in different ways ... and I greatly admire Ben for channelling all these feelings into this album, especially the title track, "Helene", an engaging 22-minute longform ambient piece ... and "We are all ghosts", where Ben recites the poem I sent him accompanied by a deeply layered and discordant soundscape that is expertly overlaid with birdsong and other found sounds. 

I really hope this album speaks to you as it has done me? 

As before, 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’. 

- Thomas 

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel151b

Weareallghosts · Helene (waag_rel151) by asleepinggiant