SubmitHub – Page 151 – Queen City Sounds and Art

“Alchemy” by indigos paradise is a Musical Vision of Creatively and Culturally Syncretic Future

indigos paradise, photo courtesy the artist

“Alchemy” is an entrancing showcase for indigos paradise’s eclectic and rich sound palette. Living up to the title, the track is built on a base of a hybrid of luminous IDM synth track and techno beat but processed with the kind of reverb to suggest a wide open space within which various other sounds launch and dissipate, where voices call cadence like an android announcing the arrival of trains in some futuristic station where a language based on some sort of then contemporary machine language is understood by all—machines, humans, visiting alien species. The blend of styles that indigos paradise brings to bear itself suggests a future where clear distinctions between artistic disciplines and genres are even less clear than they are now and creative work can more readily express an individual vision rather than reflect an internalized compliance with established modes and methods. Listen to “Alchemy” and the rest of the new indigos paradise album The Oasis on Bandcamp and connect with the artist at the links provided.

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indigosparadise.com

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bobsled team Channels the Musical Lineage of C86, 90s Indiepop and Sonic Youth on “Cool Waters”

bobsled team, photo courtesy the artists

“Cool Waters” finds Belfast, Ireland’s bobsled team draws us in with a simple and strong bass line in the beginning of the song on a journey through sparkling guitar tones and unconventional counter melodies with vocals that stand out like a spirit working its way through a mist of noisy drones that somehow sit find in the mix of tonal imagery. The contrasting aesthetics remind one of a time in the mid-90s when a bunch of naff, ersatz alternative rock and tough guy aggro nü metal pushed aside more interesting sounds and tenderness and sensitivity out of mainstream music. So much was louder without saying a whole lot and the bravado then as now was insufferable. But in the underground there was indiepop of the variety that embraced strong songwriting and unconventional pop hooks as well as noise and a spirit of experimentation that operated without reference to popular trends: Felt Pilotes, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Oliva Tremor Control—the whole Elephant 6 thing and its cousin scenes. There was also dream like noise and art rock like Unwound, Versus and Helium that resonated with the ways Sonic Youth took the avant-garde and made it accessible. The fusion of those lineages you can hear in the music of bobsled team and “Cool Water,” from the group’s fantastic full length The Colours Blur, is a fine example of those impulses and influences manifested in a new expression of a similar creative spirit. Listen to “Cool Water” on Bandcamp and connect with bobsled team at the links provided. Score a very limited edition vinyl version of the record on Bandcamp as well.

bobsled team on Instagram

“Sonic Winds” by Patrick Zelinski x Karl Edh x Ryan Dimmock is Gives Voice to the Empty Spaces of Earth After Humans

“Sonic Winds” is a collaborative track from the EP Dystopia by Patrick Zelinski, Karl Edh and Ryan Dimmock. Patrick Zelinski created all sounds on the track with a real analog eurorack synth witth production by Edh and for at least “Sonic Winds” Ryan Dimmock did overtones with violin later by Edh and Zelinski. In the context of the accompanying music video the doleful layers of sound give voice to a wind traveling through lonely, forgotten places in and on the edge of abandoned human civilization. The distorted synth swell brings a sense of ambient menace as an elegant and strong melody runs through in short emphatic passages that ring out, echoing off the walls of buildings and disappearing into the shadows, the only witness to this music a flock of birds startled from their perch on the rooftop. It evokes an eschatological mood, or more precisely, what it might be like to explore the world after humanity has moved on whether to its own destruction from plague, famine or war or off to outer space or other dimensions in search of greener spaces the likes of which it ruined in the cradle of the species. It’s a thought-provoking piece that is a fantastic soundtrack to urban decay. Watch the video for “Sonic Winds” on YouTube and connect with the creators of this song at the links below.

The Effusive Momentum of Blushing’s “Sour Punch” is an Irresistible Mood Booster

Blushing packs multiple strands of sound into the fuzzily expansive and urgent “Sour Punch.” Contrasted with more laid back vocals the song seethes, whorls and swoops upwards as though in a dynamic of endless ascent. UK shoegaze legends Lush are an obvious touchstone with the twin guitars pursuing separate ends in the rhythmic scheme and the effervescent quality of the main melody of the song and the instinct toward putting fairly melancholic themes into an upbeat pop context. Although the song has a fairly simple structure its components work in complexly complementary ways as the vocals soar in the chorus the guitar progressions flare at a different angle so that each seems to highlight the other with the rhythm section driving the whole thing forward with the result being a song that seems somehow so bright yet hazy and electrifyingly expansive. It’s a triumph over the blue mood that seems to have inspired the song’s words. Listen to “Sour Punch” on Soundcloud, watch the video on YouTube, follow Blushing at the links provided and look for the upcoming album Possessions out February 18, 2022 on Kanine Records.

Blushing on Bandcamp

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Blushing YouTube Channel

Neil Foster Evokes a Landscape Cloaked by Snow and Fog With the Enigmatic Ambient Soundscape of “Western Line”

“Western Line” might well be the signature song of Neil Foster’s new album Stormlight. Its spare soundscape suggests a snow covered landscape traversed via rail and peering out the window, marking time by the towers and the steady shuffle of wheels on tracks and the mechanisms driving motion in the distance, the rest of the world obscured by the falling snow. Soft pulses of tone accenting stages of the journey and ethereal, all but wordless female vocals courtesy Utasvi Jha giving voice to memories and passing thoughts as you wend toward a mysterious destination. Listen to “Western Line” on Bandcamp and follow the link to give a listen to the rest of Stormlight. Connect with Neil Foster at the links provided below.

neilfoster.com

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The Dark Dream Logic of Lunar Noon’s “Peregine” Leads to Down a Non-Linear Path to Emotional Reconciliation

“Peregrine” shimmers into your ear and takes you with soaring tones to an otherworldly realm as depicted in the Michelle Zheng-directed music video. The dream logic of the song and the video complement each other well. Luna Noon’s crystalline percussion muted bass ground the ethereal vocals and playful, ghostly synth melodies. The confused and disorienting, vaguely menacing interaction between the characters in the video before they reconcile and the lyrics of the song describe the way one can become lost in your own head swept up in a mood of the moment cast adrift on a sea of your own emotions. The song is reminiscent of Laurel Halo’s willingness to go off standard tonal structures and Holly Herndon’s surreal, percussive compositions and that artist’s own penchant for working in uncomfortable emotional spaces as a vehicle to explore one’s own lived psychological dynamics. Watch the video for “Peregrine” on YouTube and connect with Lunar Noon at the links provided.

lunar-noon.com

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Orchestral Ambient Track “volt” by Icelandic Duo Hugar is the Sound of Focused Solitude

Hugar, photo by Inga & Lilja Birgisdottir

Hugar processed multiple sound sources for their new single “volt.” Synth, piano and trombone all processed to a point of near abstraction and pure mood and channeled as a soothing flow of soft tones. It seems to replicate a time of thoughtful isolation while snowed in with memories of a sunny day drifting into your consciousness in contrast to the sound of winter wind outside heard faintly while your mind is focused on a neglected passion project that is best completed without distractions. The song itself while quietly commanding also hangs well in the background as a resonant set of tones that calm the mind and nudge your brain back on track. Watch the video directed by Blair Alexander Massie on YouTube and connect with Hugar at the links provided. Look for Hugar’s album Rift due out January 21, 2022 on XXIM Records/Sony.

Hugar on Twitter

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Hugar on Instagram

Uèle Lamore’s “The Dark” is a Masterfully Orchestrated Organic Flow of Textural Atmospherics

Uèle Lamore orchestrates textures, melodic drones, percussive tones and swirling, swelling synths with a masterful command of dynamics on the single “The Dark” (from her forthcoming album Loom). The accompanying video directed by Akiko Nakayama perfectly embodies Lamore’s synergy of ideas and layers of sound with imagery that initially suggests plasma flares and evolves into the movement of liquid and air as if under a slide like a black and white oil projection with all the granular detail intact with the intricate and organic flow of disparate elements that together create a striking visual experience in absolute sync with Lamore’s bright and breezy yet focused composition. Watch the video for “The Dark” on YouTube and connect with Uèle Lamore at the links provided.

Uèle Lamore on Instagram

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Uèle Lamore YouTube Channel

Mokhov Primes the Mind and Body for a Trip to a Zen-like State With “Dream Weaver”

“Dream Weaver” builds in your mind images of clear lines, open spaces and unstructured time. The latter suggested by its spare rhythms and cycling melodic synth line with languid, echoing arc of luminous tones over delicate bass accents. It is the mood of a countryside train ride with hours to go to reach your destination and no demands on your attention or energy. It eases your mind into a leisurely state ready to take in whatever comes your way with a Zen-like tranquility. Its minimal techno beat is akin to more chill IDM or trance and while unobtrusive it isn’t music that fades into the background so much as actively soothes your conscious mind. Listen to “Dream Weaver” on Spotify and connect with Mokhov at the links below where you can also listen to the Solid State Dreams album in its entirety.

KEG Pose a World Without Humans in the Video for the Charmingly Frantic “Farmhands”

“Welcome to SMELVE VILLAGE” are the first words we see in KEG’s video for “Farmhands” before we enter a village of mushroom houses, green skinned short humanoids with pointy ears and the band performing in herky jerky manner citing a litany of complaints and observations which the aforementioned creatures object to with a parade carrying signs saying “HUMANS FUCK OFF” while one of their number summons a giant creature that shows up out of the local pond and consumes the band as the view pulls back and we come to see it was either a very strange TV show, certainly an unusual music video and/or a glimpse into an alternate reality we may not want to visit but where certainly magic is real and our species doesn’t dominate the world. There is some comfort in that mere possibility even as the band carries on with a frantic yet tuneful song of rapid guitar arpeggios and vocals on the verge of some kind of break. Visually the video is like a cross between what Dash Shaw did for My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, the cartoon style of Adventure Time and what Richard Linklater did with Waking Life. Musically imagine the borderline unhinged moments of The Rapture, the surreal wordplay and off kilter rhythms of Parquet Courts and the irreverence and disregard for all regular song logic of their own of Happy Mondays and you’ll be somewhere near the inherent charm of the track. Watch the music video below on YouTube and connect with KEG at the links provided.