Jack is ATTN:music’s grand overloard, he knows a thing or two.
Album of the Year…
…Steve Roach – Immersion: Four
When allowed to spill gently out of your speaker system, “Immersion Four” interacts beautifully with your listening space. It melts into your immediate environment and subconscious, showering the walls with gloomy drones and gentle electronics, hanging in the air like a haunting sonic mist. As with most Steve Roach releases, it’s hard to describe the listening experience and do it justice. It morphs constantly yet never progresses from its initial state. It conjures up the most alien of escapist environments yet provides a powerfully vivid insight into the soul of Steve himself. It’s virtually perfect; the only downside being that seventy minutes is nowhere near long enough for this beautifully crafted ambient piece. Without a doubt the finest release in the “Immersion” series, and arguably one of his best works to date.
Gig of the Year…
…Sunn 0))) – 14/12/09 @ Koko, London
Although I loved “Monoliths & Dimensions” on record, I was worried that the live renditions would become messy and over-complex. Thankfully, the band decided to strip away the choir and strings for the performance context and stick to a four-man line up, with a Rhodes piano and Attila’s operatic singing the only accompaniment to the guitar and bass core. The composition of the album is so strong that these bare-bones versions worked an absolute treat, with the climactic surge of feedback and vocal chant at the end of “Big Church” providing the strongest casing point. Absolutely incredible.
Keep an eye out for…
…Colleen
When Colleen released “Les Ondes Silencieuses” in 2007, it marked a move towards more sparse and organic ambient music – a record of simplistic melodies and textures, scattered with contemplative breaths of silence and rich with gorgeous timbres and natural instrument overtones. It’s the smallest details in the execution of this record and the rawness of the production that made it so compelling – the untidy creak of bow on strings, the dying metallic resonance of singing bowls. If her 2010 album explores this sound further, it’s sure to be an absolute gem.
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