Wolski, Michal - "Discoteque" [SP]

Failed attempt at 8-bit or just bad techno (2/10) Discoteque Pinkkong's "mala dama" is not enough? So here you are! This time Michal Wolski - toward plastic label's merriment - flings "discoteque" to a machine of 49m. Michal, surrounded by more powerful equipment back-up than ever before, takes you to the disco, in which some teaser swiped all colourophones and a rhythm of dance to couple of dying of boredom pairs is determined by a hard bass line... Monotonous techno beats, awful plastic sounds of cheap keyboard and ugly flat mix make for really tiring recording. And don't think I mean a deliberate lo-fi effect that 8-bit artists achieve by using primitive synthetic samples. 8-bit can be funny, fresh, catchy and fun to listen to, if only made by a talented artist. If Wolski wanted to make an 8-bit piece, he failed badly. If he wanted modern techno sound he failed even more. Any pros? Thank Zeus, it's short. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format.

[Myspace]

Bring Me The Head Of Orion - "Colossus"

Dark guitar ambient (8/10)

Hailing from Austin, Texas, Bring Me The Head Of Orion offers a musical experience as large as the state itself. This music contains a sprawling, open-ended quality that confounds expectations by being simultaneously evolutionary and completely static. The formal architecture is built on simple, clear cut melodic ideas and a minimalist type repetition that moves from idea to idea with a refreshing clarity. Depending on your point of view, you might consider the sonic result to accompany the beginning of the world or its end. As or myself, I relate more to it as a soundtrack to the eschaton, and frankly would be worried as to what type of world would produce these sounds from its point of origin. [Read more --->] [Myspace]

Quite interesting dark & heavy guitar ambient (it's not electronica!). Mostly distorted guitars, drums and keyboard drones. And gloomy atmosphere.

The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format.

Selyanina, Lena - "Oi Da Ne Vecher" [SP]

Absolute disaster (2/10) This is Lena Selyanina's modern take on the old Russian cossack song Oi Da Ne Vecher, conveying a mystical story of a cossack who sees a dream possibly predicting his own death due to the approaching 'eastern winds'. I'm stunned. This is so bad that I don't know where to start... The song is so beautiful and touching that such dull interpretation feels almost like a crime against humanity. Firstly – the singing. Completely devoid of passion, lacking the dynamics – so terribly necessary in this song. Speaking of terribleness: the way the vocal line is divided between several voices and then mixed together – just lousy. No creativity, no reason, no added value. Where are these vast Ukrainian plains, where's this feeling of longing, where's the needed space? Everything is so flat and claustrophobic like it was recorded in a bucket full of water.

The vocals are completely overwhelmed by music, what could be probably bearable, if it was of good quality. But it is even worse than singing. Horrendous drums deliver a final blow to already seriously injured recording. Not only they are low quality electronic samples, stinking of plastic - as unsuitable in an atmospheric folk song as it is virtually possible – but what worse, they are too loud and distinct. Each beat of a hi-hat is like a nail hammered into the heart of this beautiful melody. So out-of-place, killing all the atmosphere. The end result is primitive plastic electronica with some folk wailing in the background. Shame. Real shame. Having said that I must add that two elements are really good: firstly, vocals themselves (not to be confused with interpretation) – the vocalist is talented; if only she learned how to express the feelings. Secondly, piano is very good – well played and no ugly plastic sound here. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save the song. A final note: I was pondering over the enthusiastic reviews and ratings this monstrosity received to this date. The most probable explanation is that for the Western ear the Russian folklore is so exotic and the melodies so touching and haunting, that the beautiful tune by itself is enough to play with their emotions. They are so moved by the melody that they don't notice the flaws of interpretation or don't recognize them as such. Therefore, I would like to ask anyone preparing to rate this piece with more than 6/10, to check out the two below songs: If you still feel like rating it with 10/10 after hearing them, please go ahead. The first one is another version of the subject song. But it is mainly sang by a man and it's recording quality is terrible, so check out also the second song: “Zoriuszka” from the great folk band Werchowyna. This is how Eastern Slavic folk can be played, my friends... And I dare you not to shed a tear... The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format.

Bat For Lashes - "Two Suns" [Special Edition] (2009)

Brighton, England's Bat for Lashes is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Natasha Khan. The Pakistan-born Khan pulls from her art school education and her experience producing multimedia installations when it comes to writing songs. She also cites Steve Reich and Susan Hiller as influences, while echoes of Björk and Siouxsie Sioux are heard throughout Bat for Lashes' mystical indie rock sound. [by MacKenzie Wilson / Allmusic.com] Ultimately, Two Suns is nearly as graceful and poetic as Bat for Lashes' best work; it's just that the album's massive concepts and sounds require a little more time and patience to unravel to get to the songs' hearts. It's clear that Khan's talent and ambition are both huge, and for her to slightly overreach is better than not aiming as high as she can. [Read more --->]

Warning! The artist probably* does not sell this record outside of the official distribution, so if you buy this album, almost all the money will go to the recording industry mafia and will be used later for committing crimes such as unlawful harassment of fans and bribing authorities to implement changes in law, which would infringe basic human rights.

*) If you know the way of paying the artist directly for this work, please let me know and I will gladly update this page.

Tracklist: 01. Glass 02. Sleep Alone 03. Moon and Moon 04. Daniel 05. Peace of Mind 06. Siren Song 07. Pearl's Dream 08. Good Love 09. Two Planets 10. Traveling Woman 11. The Big Sleep

Special Edition: 01. Wilderness 02. Sleep Alone (909s in DarkTimes Mix) 03. Daniel (Lo Fi) 04. A Forest (The Cure cover) 05. Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover) 06. Good Love (live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 19 April 2009) 07. Daniel (live on Radiohead tour at Nimes, 14 June 2008) 08. Lonely (live at Koko, 29 October 2007)

[Wikipedia] / [Official website]

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

EAC extraction logfile from 7. September 2009, 19:36

Bat For Lashes / Two Suns (Special Edition)

Used drive  : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-H12N   Adapter: 1  ID: 0

Read mode               : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache      : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction                      : 667
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out          : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks   : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations       : Yes
Used interface                              : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling                                : Appended to previous track

Used output format              : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate                : 768 kBit/s
Quality                         : High
Add ID3 tag                     : No
Command line compressor         : E:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d


TOC of the extracted CD

     Track |   Start  |  Length  | Start sector | End sector 
    ---------------------------------------------------------
        1  |  0:00.00 |  4:33.25 |         0    |    20499   
        2  |  4:33.25 |  4:03.43 |     20500    |    38767   
        3  |  8:36.68 |  3:08.68 |     38768    |    52935   
        4  | 11:45.61 |  4:11.09 |     52936    |    71769   
        5  | 15:56.70 |  3:28.38 |     71770    |    87407   
        6  | 19:25.33 |  4:58.36 |     87408    |   109793   
        7  | 24:23.69 |  4:45.24 |    109794    |   131192   
        8  | 29:09.18 |  4:29.42 |    131193    |   151409   
        9  | 33:38.60 |  4:47.53 |    151410    |   172987   
       10  | 38:26.38 |  3:47.71 |    172988    |   190083   
       11  | 42:14.34 |  2:51.02 |    190084    |   202910   
       12  | 45:05.36 |  3:28.22 |    202911    |   218532   
       13  | 48:33.58 |  4:35.08 |    218533    |   239165   
       14  | 53:08.66 |  4:03.16 |    239166    |   257406   
       15  | 57:12.07 |  3:17.56 |    257407    |   272237   
       16  | 60:29.63 |  2:34.41 |    272238    |   283828   
       17  | 63:04.29 |  5:25.49 |    283829    |   308252   
       18  | 68:30.03 |  4:21.35 |    308253    |   327862   
       19  | 72:51.38 |  3:55.61 |    327863    |   345548   


Track  1

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\01 - Glass.wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.00

     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC F1E1C934
     Copy CRC F1E1C934
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  2

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\02 - Sleep Alone.wav

     Peak level 99.6 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 5B690F66
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  3

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\03 - Moon And Moon.wav

     Peak level 99.3 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC E99F1126
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  4

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\04 - Daniel.wav

     Peak level 99.5 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 0621A7FC
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  5

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\05 - Peace Of Mind.wav

     Peak level 99.3 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC C9D4712B
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  6

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\06 - Siren Song.wav

     Peak level 99.4 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 9B68E748
     Copy CRC 9B68E748
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  7

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\07 - Pearl's Dream.wav

     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 0CDEC471
     Copy CRC 0CDEC471
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  8

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\08 - Good Love.wav

     Peak level 99.4 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC C3AA86F7
     Copy CRC C3AA86F7
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track  9

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\09 - Two Planets.wav

     Peak level 98.8 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 47BFFA76
     Copy CRC 47BFFA76
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 10

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\10 - Travelling Woman.wav

     Peak level 99.4 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 065CB6E2
     Copy CRC 065CB6E2
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 11

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\11 - The Big Sleep.wav

     Peak level 99.3 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC B0587275
     Copy CRC B0587275
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 12

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\12 - Wilderness.wav

     Peak level 99.3 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 8A462A86
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 13

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\13 - Sleep Alone (909s In Darktimes Mix).wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.01

     Peak level 99.3 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 27B425E2
     Copy CRC 27B425E2
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 14

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\14 - Daniel (Lo Fi).wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:02.21

     Peak level 98.9 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 6957C1F5
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 15

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\15 - A Forest.wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:01.94

     Peak level 99.9 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 7BD0BE80
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 16

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\16 - Use Somebody (Lo Fi).wav

     Peak level 98.9 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC 136532B7
     Copy CRC 136532B7
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 17

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\17 - Good Love (Live).wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:00.81

     Peak level 99.7 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC F4A67D99
     Copy CRC F4A67D99
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 18

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\18 - Daniel (Live).wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:01.44

     Peak level 99.5 %
     Track quality 100.0 %
     Test CRC FD5E41B1
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     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK

Track 19

     Filename H:\Music\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Special Edition) [FLAC]\19 - Lonely (Live).wav

     Pre-gap length  0:00:01.22

     Peak level 99.8 %
     Track quality 99.9 %
     Test CRC D4072054
     Copy CRC D4072054
     Track not present in AccurateRip database
     Copy OK


None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

No errors occurred

End of status report

AUDIOCHECKER v1.2 - by Dester - opdester@freemail.hu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+01 - Glass.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

02 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+02 - Sleep Alone.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

03 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+03 - Moon And Moon.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

04 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+04 - Daniel.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

05 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+05 - Peace Of Mind.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

06 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+06 - Siren Song.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

07 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+07 - Pearl's Dream.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

08 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+08 - Good Love.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 62%

09 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+09 - Two Planets.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

10 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+10 - Travelling Woman.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

11 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+11 - The Big Sleep.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%

12 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+12 - Wilderness.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 43%

13 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+13 - Sleep Alone (909s In Darktimes Mix).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

14 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+14 - Daniel (Lo Fi).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

15 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+15 - A Forest.flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

16 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+16 - Use Somebody (Lo Fi).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

17 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+17 - Good Love (Live).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

18 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+18 - Daniel (Live).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%

19 -===- X:\Bat For Lashes - Two Suns\+19 - Lonely (Live).flac
  Extracted successfully
  Conclusion: This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%

Interested? Ask Uncle Google the magic question:

"Suns (Special Edition) (2009) flac" "MuatDip21" "flac review can also" -"trigger inside"

Phon - "bSides"

Good intelligent electronica (8/10) techno/electronica/idm Earliest work and probably most "finished" Really fine intelligent electronica. I like all the tracks: 01 - nice atmospheric tune 02 - positively crazy miniature 03 & 04 - intelligently disturbing 05 - pleasant downtempo Just check it out - it's worth it. Previously this album included one more track (as no. 1), which was too repetitive and annoying. The particular elements didn't compose well with the others. They didn't form a cohesive whole. As it has been removed, I raised my rating from 7 to 8. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's Blog]

Hoffmann, Michael - "Luminous" [EP]

First class ambient (8/10)

If you can trust Brian Eno, then ambient has the capacity to put the listener into a different, not necessarily existent environment just by the use of sound, and to acoustically confront him with new sensations of space. Even though carrying on with this tradition, Michael Hoffmann breaks some more modern ground soundwise on his first solo-ep on iD.EOLOGY. Minimalist is how he goes about when bit by bit, the penumbral monstrous steel-construction of an abandoned industrial ruin appears in the mechanical monotony of resonating feedback-loops and stolid muffled beats. Debris of clanging metal and crumbly noise cover the ground, the walls of the corroded workshop answer each step with a multiple echo. Very slowly a harmonic crescendo illuminates the room, bathing it in the sunny glow of warm, comforting pads and touching it with the soft summer breeze of glittering arpeggios. What you are normally likely to encounter during an arts-performance, is what this ep achieves solely by means of sound. So creating and changing environments, generating and conveying new sensations of space is possible in a different way. But who would ever have doubted that you can trust Brian Eno.

[Artist's website]

First class ambient. The artist is very accomplished, so this EP is flawless from the technical and production side. Each piece is very creative, full of different ideas, so it never gets boring, like so many bad ambient works. I gave it "only" 8/10, because it doesn't fit my taste perfectly, as it is slightly too calm and smooth for my liking. But it shouldn't discourage you in any way from checking this overall great recording.

The album has been released by the iD.EOLOGY netlabel and is available for downloading at netlabel's website as well as at archive.org in mp3 and ogg formats.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation.

Phon

Royalty-free music for professional licensing

List of reviewed albums

• Phon - "Beatles Are Dead"
• Phon - "Blue" [SP]
• Phon - "bSides"
• Phon - "Clatterbang"
• Phon - "Contains Traces Of Nuts"
• Phon - "Havephonwithacid" [SP]
• Phon - "Peaceful Sinerave"
• Phon - "Phon" [SP]

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this artist, consider supporting him by making a donation.