nuojuva - valot kaukaa - preservation - cd -14$
The Preservation label presents Valot Kaukaa, the second album from Finnish producer Olli Aarni. Valot Kaukaa is the first work for Aarni under a new name, Nuojuva, having previously appeared under the name Ous Mal. As Ous Mal, Aarni's 2010 debut album, Nuojuva Halava took the early promise of his CD-R releases into a beautiful realization of a unique sound that evoked both a curious nostalgia and a sense of future pathways, combining classical overtures, narcotic beats and warm atmospherics into blissful song. Aarni's beguiling vision holds sparer focus on Valot Kaukaa (the title roughly translates as "lights from far away") for a more overtly ambient space filled with delicate instrumentation -- including cello, piano, flute and violin -- as well as a new interest in the possibilities of voice. Spacey and intimate with wintry and autumnal shades, its whispered melodies and open drift making for a heightened state still somehow grounded in down-home feeling. The gliding vocal textures of Rachel Evans aka Motion Sickness Of Time Travel as well as one-half of duo Quiet Evenings -- is a recurring highlight, while Sophie Hutchings' dazzling, rolling piano propels Laakso into a wonderful orbit. Honing a special path explored on Nuojuva Halava, Valot Kaukaa feels like one long, suspended, beautiful moment. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.
pimmon - smudge another yesterday - preservation - cd -11$
Pimmon is the alias for electronic composer Paul Gough. In the last decade, Pimmon has forged an international reputation for creating dense, challenging and engaging electronic music. Smudge Another Yesterday is Pimmon’s first full length release in five years. This release picks up and goes further from the point where the acclaimed Secret Sleeping Birds left off. Smudge Another Yesterday is an exploration of the song behind the noise; the secret whispers hidden in the static.
Within these vast and spacious works are endless fragments shaped and distended into magnetic states of subtle movement and pulse. From beautiful, foreboding pieces sung by hidden choirs to crackling, lava-flow like ambience, the mood swings of Smudge Another Yesterday are steeped in bristling commotion and stirring intimacy. It is a startling return from an individual and distinct artist.
Smudge Another Yesterday was mastered by renown Italian composer Giuseppe Ielasi. Pimmon has collaborated with other celebrated artists of his field – including Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi and Keith Rowe – and has recorded for various labels around the world including Tigerbeat6 and Fat Cat. This is his first full-length album for an Australian label.
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evan miller's - beeswax ephemera -preservation- cd -11$
The Preservation label presents Beeswax Ephemera from Iowa City guitarist Evan Miller. With one eye on the
future and one on the past, his playing has considerable technical and abstract expanse, though retains a
wonderful melodic sensibility upfront. Evan’s experimental leanings give Beeswax Ephemera an idiosyncratic
quality that mark an inventive new talent in the world of artists taking guitar music into exciting new directions.
These nominally earthy compositions take flight with the undeniable spirit of country-blues and early Takoma folk
recordings from the likes of John Fahey but also journey into more surreal ruminations for a rapturous work sitting
somewhere between downhome, mysterious and timeless. After taking piano and clarinet lessons as a child, Evan
acquired his first six-string at 14, though it stayed propped against a wall for a time until the age-old spur of
competitive teenage boys made him pick it up and start playing. It was a quick transition from aping FM radio rock
staples to fingerpicking folk, via a copy of Stephan Grossman’s instruction classic “Country-Blues Guitar” book
passed on by his father. It’s influence still looms large: The closing track on Beeswax Ephemera is a dynamic take
on Furry Lewis blues classic “I Will Turn Your Money Green” that also finds room for a blistering snatch of electric
guitar, rolling clarinet lines and sleigh bells by its end. Beeswax Ephemera was originally self-released by Evan in a
handmade edition of 150, primarily sold on tour through the United Kingdom. This new Preservation edition has
been mastered by former Yellow Swans member Pete Swanson
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