Tag Archives: instrumental

Nils Frahm – Wintermusik (Erased Tapes)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano by Nahum Brodski – a student of the last scholar of Tschaikowski. The three instrumentals, which make up his debut ‘Wintermusik’ are piano led pieces, coloured with occasional celeste and reed organ parts. The record’s equal measures of sorrowful refrains and uplifting passages, combined with a real intimacy that makes for an album you’ll want to return to again and again. The songs were originally intended as a Christmas present for friends and family, hence its winter release.

Olhava – Frozen Bloom (Avantgarde Music)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

Frozen Bloom is our fourth album where we took some different routes compositionally(sic). Two of four tracks are traditionally storm-like blackgaze passages and another two are leaning towards more meditative drone experience.

It is about unfulfilled dreams. About how we sacrifice everything today for some abstract “tomorrow” which may never come. But tomorrow and yesterday don’t exist – only this very moment of static contemplation.

When winter is just starting to fade and give some space for a spring’s first steps, when first life starts to reappear and the very early flowers peek through the thawing soil a sudden shift in temperature can leave them petrified and frozen back again like being punished by the Queen of Fields. This statuesque dead beauty, being infinitely alive and dead at the same time is Frozen Bloom.

We got a chance to collaborate with A. Lunn (appearing courtesy of Bindrune records) who kindly agreed to record an electric guitar solo as well as acoustic parts and choral parts on Frozen Bloom I

Recording, mixing and mastering by Mihail Kurochkin
Cover art by Daniel Teisakowski (@daniel_tskwsk)
Guest electric guitar, acoustic guitar, square neck resonator guitar and choral vocals – A. Lunn (Appearing courtesy of Bindrune recordings)
Physical release via Avantgarde music
Cassette release by Slowsnow records

Foetus – Halt (Ectopic Ents)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

Foetus is one of the major musical projects of NYC composer JG Thirlwell.

HALT is the final Foetus album, and the first Foetus album in twelve years. It completes the cycle of an arc that began in 1981 with the first Foetus album DEAF.

Thirlwell worked on HALT on and off over a period of eight years. As with each album he has made, he wanted to reinvent the music, use new forms, innovate and introduce new surprising forms into his musical palette, at the same time as feeling like a leap forward.

HALT deals with themes of war, religion, disease, media, global warming, anxiety, hypocrisy, conspiracy, death and mortality, among other things. Dread is a leitmotif through many of the Foetus albums and this one is no exception.

HALT will be followed by its companion album, LEAK, in 2027.


COMPOSED, PRODUCED, PERFORMED AND RECORDED BY
JG THIRLWELL AT SELF IMMOLATION STUDIOS

MIXED AT SELF IMMOLATION STUDIOS AND CIRCULAR RUIN STUDIO
FINAL MIXES WITH BEN GREENBERG AT CIRCULAR RUIN STUDIO
DRUMS RECORDED AT 30 BELOW
ENGINEERED BY BRENT MCLACHLAN

SPECIAL GUESTS
LEAH ASHER (The Rhythm Method) VIOLIN ON 2, 11
JAKE BALDWIN TRUMPETS ON 3, 7, 10
BRIAN CHASE (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) DRUMS ON 1,3 ,8
TIMO ELLIS (Netherlands) GUITAR ON 3, 7
SIMON HANES (Tredici Bacci) BANJO ON 9, BASS ON 9, 11, ACOUSTIC GUITAR ON 9
BRENDON RANDALL MYERS (Dither) GUITAR ON 3, 4, 10
SAMI STEVENS VOCALS ON 3
LAURA WOLF ADDITIONAL VOICE ON 8

SLEEVE ARTWORK BY JG THIRLWELL

Aquino – Be Late. (Self-Released)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

In 2020, I, along with many folks around the world, stopped playing live shows. I also stopped writing songs with lyrics. It was something about my voice. I didn’t want to hear it.* During this moment, time was on all of our minds. We had a lot of it. Pre-pandemic, we seemed to be in a rush. And for some, post-pandemic, that pace came back with a vengeance.

I never wanted to be late. I feared late. But then someone issued me the challenge – be late. Challenge accepted.

This EP is the culmination of that meditation. I wrote these songs between 2020 and 2025. The song titles may be ridiculous, but so is always being on time.

Be late. (Unless it’s an emergency, of course. Or dinner’s ready.)

*I am writing songs with lyrics again. Yay.


All songs composed, performed, mixed, and mastered by Michael Aquino