Posts Tagged ‘Lower Dens’
Mixtape: With the Dark Hug of Time
With the Dark Hug of Time [A Fractured Air Mix]
To listen on Mixcloud:
https://www.mixcloud.com/Fractured_Air/with-the-dark-hug-of-time-a-fractured-air-mix/
Tracklisting:
01. Nordic Affect ‘Clockworking’ [Sono Luminus]
02. Masayoshi Fujita ‘Tears of Unicorn’ [Erased Tapes]
03. Julia Kent ‘Tramontana’ [Leaf]
04. Cork Gamelan Ensemble ‘The Three Forges’ [Diatribe]
05. Jerusalem in My Heart ‘A Granular Buzuk’ [Constellation]
06. Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld ‘With the dark hug of time’ [Constellation]
07. Roll The Dice ‘In Deference’ [Leaf]
08. Dawn of Midi ‘Dysnomia’ [Erased Tapes]
09. Lower Dens ‘Quo Vadis’ [Ribbon Music]
10. Micachu & The Shapes ‘L.A. Poison’ [Rough Trade]
11. The Fall ‘Early Days of Channel Führer’ [Narnack]
12. Helen ‘City Breathing’ [Kranky]
13. Time Is A Mountain ‘Alicetti’ [Repeat Until Death]
14. Musette ‘Send In The Clown Clones’ (excerpt) [Häpna]
15. Roslyn Steer ‘Gently’ [KantCope]
16. Rafael Anton Irisarri ‘Will Her Heart Burn Anymore_00’ [Self-Released]
17. Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm ‘Wide Open’ [Erased Tapes]
18. Ellll ‘Now’ [Unreleased]
19. Holly Herndon ‘Home’ [4AD]
20. Julia Holter ‘Night Song’ [Domino]
21. Eleni Karaindrou ‘The Weeping Meadow I’ [ECM]
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The copyright in these recordings is the property of the individual artists and/or their respective record labels. If you like the music, please support the artist by buying their records.
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You can follow Fractured Air on Twitter HERE or on Facebook HERE.
http://fracturedair.com
Mixtape: A Call For Distance
A Call For Distance [A Fractured Air Mix]
To listen on Mixcloud:
https://www.mixcloud.com/Fractured_Air/a-call-for-distance-a-fractured-air-mix/
Tracklisting:
01. Steve Reich ‘It’s Gonna Rain, Part I’ (excerpt) [Nonesuch]
02. Colin Stetson And Sarah Neufeld ‘Won’t be a thing to become’ [Constellation]
03. So Percussion ‘Music for Wood and Strings: Section 1’ [Brassland]
04. Nils Frahm ‘Wall’ [Erased Tapes]
05. Dawn of Midi ‘Nix’ [Erased Tapes]
06. Craig Leon ‘She Wears A Hemispherical Skullcap’ [RVNG Intl]
07. Holly Herndon ‘Morning Sun’ [4AD]
08. Severed Heads ‘Dead Eyes Opened’ [Dark Entries]
09. Lower Dens ‘Your Heart Still Beating’ [Ribbon Music]
10. Heather Woods Broderick ‘A Call For Distance’ [Western Vinyl]
11. Chris Isaac ‘Wicked Game’ [Reprise]
12. Julia Holter ‘My Love My Love’ [Tompkins Square]
13. John Bence ‘Disquiet, Pt. 1’ [Other People]
14. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis ‘Far from Men 2’ [Goliath Entertainment]
15. Edan ‘Beauty’ [Lewis Recordings]
16. Richard Strauss ‘Vier letzte Lieder: IV. Im Abendrot’ (excerpt) [CBS]
17. Tom Waits ‘You Can Never Hold Back Spring’ [Anti-]
18. The Beach Boys ‘Look (Stereo Mix Of Take 20)’ [Capitol]
19. The Books ‘“Ah…, I See”’ [Temporary Residence Limited]
20. Glen Campbell ‘Guess I’m Dumb’ [Ace]
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The copyright in these recordings is the property of the individual artists and/or their respective record labels. If you like the music, please support the artist by buying their records.
—
To follow Fractured Air you can do so on Facebook HERE, or Twitter HERE.
Step Right Up: Lower Dens
Words: Mark Carry, Illustration: Craig Carry
Lower Dens are at the heart of the current Baltimore scene. Together with the likes of Beach House and Wye Oak, they create shimmering, otherworldly indie music. Led by Jana Hunter, the band formed in 2009 and in a short space of time they have distilled their distinct eerie otherness of sound. ‘Nootropics’ is their latest album and similar to neighbour’s Beach House current album ‘Bloom’, is one of the milestones of 2012 and beyond. Lush future pop (current single ‘Propagation’), hypnotic krautrock infused rhythms (‘Brains’), swirling meditative hymns (‘Lamb’) are meticulously crafted.
Lyrically, the album deals with transhumanism and feelings about technology. ‘Nootropics’, the album’s title is defined as ‘a substance that enhances cognition and memory and facilitates learning’. Jana Hunter says ‘The record as a whole begs for an assessment of all the flaws inherent in our existence, and to imagine a better, more suitable, logical way for humanity to live’. The opening track ‘Alphabet Song’ is a reference to a 1920 dadaist poem by Louis Aragon titled ‘Suicide’ that Hunter says ‘looks at our history as a species’. ‘Propogation’ explores the desire to procreate while ‘Brains’ studies our relationship to technology. Musically, ‘Nootropics’ delves into krautrock and electronic soundscapes together with their guitar based dream pop. The latter was very evident on the band’s debut album ‘Twin Hand Movement’ released in 2010.
The large sonic palette Lower Dens now draw from makes ‘Nootropics’ an utterly engaging landscape of sound full of hidden subtleties and meticulous beauty warped in mystery and intrigue. The brooding synths, lazer guided melodies creates a unique realm of both dark and light. The journey Lower Dens take you on is akin to a sci-fi exploration of one’s inner-self and in essence one’s very own existence. The Baltimore
collective have made an ambitious work which exceeds on every level.
‘Nootropics’ is available now on Ribbon Music.