Ghost by Matt Stevens

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! especially for those who like instrumental music, acoustic guitar to be exact. This is an album you need and must to own. Ghost by Matt Stevens is something extraordinary. It made you dance on your toes, springing to life in this summer seasons or just starring into the big blue sky while listening to ‘eleven’.

 

Ghost is the 2nd album by Matt Stevens. I only found out about him when one fine day, I discovered an email in my mail box. Is a music submission! Great! It excited me. Downloaded it. Listened to it! NEED to blog about it! But, was caught up with my studies. After a month, here it is. At times, Ghost have a hint of jazziness and classical music notes. Yet, it did not sounds boring at all. (not saying jazz and classical is boring but you know…or maybe not. haha) In fact, the first two tracks is a very lively, vibrant, dancing on your toes tracks while snapping your fingers. Is everything that I need after rushing so many assignments in a month time. Ghost is a 10-tracks album. A few tracks that I dig most is “Into the Sea”, "Big Sky”, “Eleven”, “8.19”, and “Ghost”.

 

You can free download the album at his website: http://mattstevens.bandcamp.com/album/ghost or at here http://www.4shared.com/get/9E0FI4we/Ghost.html. Enjoy folks!

Ghost by Matt Stevens

Share

Tomorrow Becomes You by Slow Six

Music is like chemistry. Sometimes, you have to mix this and that to find the perfect combination. Experiment is the key. Slow Six did that and thus the result is Tomorrow Becomes You, ambient, shoegaze, drone, post-rock and contemporary classical all in this epically long length album. This album gave me a very cosmic feel. Is almost like you are in some distant planet and somehow you are listening to some music band from planet Earth. 

The Night You Left New York can be divided into 3 different part, beginning, medium, ending. Begins with droning effect, it never failed to fascinate me how harmonic the music is. The moment the violin stats to play at 2.14mins it took the song to a different dimension. The music is more intense and explosive with so much emotion for one to feel and interpret the story Slow Six want to tell. At 6.37mins with the help of the violin the song change to a more orchestration feel. 

Cloud Cover (part 1) resonate around the same (almost) music note through out the entire track. At first it gave you the idea that something big is coming up and you waited, only to find out 5 minutes later that the track has ended and is entering the Cloud Cover (part 2) which is where the real deal is. Cloud Cover (part 2) is more towards ambient with misty noise and pitching radio noise occasionally with a hint of white noise. The streaks of the violin does the magic here with profound effect. It is engaging enough for me to listen to the whole track. It’s the kind of music that grab your attention and you put down whatever that you are doing and just listen to it. You hardly will miss this track. 

 

Because Together We Resonate is one amazing track. It begins with robotic rhythm, very futuristic and half way through the violin and cello catch up, classical and contemporary. Is like the past finally manage to catch up with the future and when it does it create a symphony that is too good to be missed. 

Sympathetic Response System (part 1) and Sympathetic Response System (Part 2) is one epic long track a total of 15mins. The track is eerie cold and dark. Still it’s kinda groovy for this track though the music is kinda repetitive for part 1 and like Cloud Cover the real deal is in part 2. 

These Rivers Between Us is intriguing and eerie nonetheless. Is like in those horror movies where the beast is closing up with the leads and at anytime it would bite off their heads. It slowly build up the tension when strings are at their most endearing. 

Buy Tomorrow Becomes You by Slow Six.

           

"Because Together We Resonate" by Slow Six from Western Vinyl on Vimeo.

Tomorrow Becomes You by Slow Six

Share

Constellations by Balmorhea

Perhaps, it is more suitable to said that Balmorhea had back to basic with their fourth album Constellations where it strips the electric instrumentation and just purely focused on acoustic instrumentation with piano and guitar. Live up to the album name Constellations, this is an album for a silent and starry night, light breeze caressing ones face gently, and as time goes by with the notable music notes ones slowed the breathing and stared into the deep nothingness with your mind start wonder away. Harmonious, beauteous, pleasant and engaging should be the best words to describe this low decibel ranges work. 

The album start off with To The Order of The Night a very meticulous work of music, which I found it magnificently breathtaking beautiful that my hair stands at the back of my neck. Silently beautiful. The second track, Bowsprit perhaps is the less minimalist piece in this nine track album. Unlike other tracks that had been kept to a minimal and low decibel range of works. Bowsprit is the most happening track in the whole ablum with banjo, guitar, violin, cello, stomps and perhaps hand-claps. This is the moment where fireworks lit up the dark night. 

Winter Circle, Constellations and Steerage and The Lamp shouldn't have a problem to take hold of the heart of piano lovers. This trio are piano based tracks. Winter Circle is more melancholy with the echo of the vocals. I can’t help but to relate it to despair, lost and death.  Constellations is intriguing, in the first 1.20mins it just revolve around a one or two music notes that keep repeating. The track starts to take off after that and melodic it may became but it was like a soft whisper, tip-toeing. Steerage and The Lamp is a long 7mins length track that for the first 5mins the only things that matter is the piano played by Rob Lowe and at the exact 5.03mins mark the cello kicks in and boy it was it beautiful. The marriage of the piano and cello resulting a somber listening experience yet one will not feel the gloomy mood. 

On Herons two acoustic guitars explore a chord progression but at some point I can’t help to notice the similarities between this song and Night Squall which is another track from this album. A very symphonious and euphonious track that performed using bass guitar and cello with occasionally drumming. On the Weight of Night lean heavily upon lightly-plucked acoustic guitars, gently-brushed drums to create a smoky and melancholic moods. Palestrina the last track and the most stand out track from this album. The songs fuses the ghostly choir which reminds me of the choir from those old cathedral with stained glass and most probably the sound of a light saber perhaps? The only thing that I can only related to with the laser-sound-alike noise. Towards almost the end of the track, ambient mist of humming strings fuse in making this one of the most memorable track and ended this album perfectly. 

Constellations by Balmorhea is a light and easy to listen album. At first listening it may not have a ‘woah’ effect that take you off guard. But as time goes by, if given the chance to listen for a few more times you would found as like the music has mature and become more flavourful. It starts to grow on you. Given the right time and chances Constellations would probably be one of the best instrumental album of this year.  

Buy Constellations by Balmorhea.

Constellations by Balmorhea

Share

...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness by Olafur Arnalds

Majestic, graceful, gorgeous, melancholic and emotional is the best way to describe this fully instrumental album by Ólafur Arnalds, an multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. This album slowly peeled your emotion piece by piece and eventually exposing your emotion in the most vulnerable state ever. Leaving echoes of memories that haunted you ever since you can remember, lingering still even though the last music note has ends. I guess this is what nostalgia means.



His classical styles of music is magnificent. Soothing yet haunting. Hopeful yet hopeless. Beautiful yet sorrow. Complex yet simple. He is a musician no doubt about that but I think he should pun in a story teller too. There is(are) story(ies) waiting to be unfolded by own interpretation. Is like he is composing the soundtrack of our life stories.


It was such a glee to discover this artist. His music gives me a peace of my mind; creating an oasis or a sanctuary for oneself. In the meantime while we escape from the reality it walked us down the memories lane as if this is the soundtrack of our past. His music is almost spiritual. For such an young musician to compose such inspiring music, to say he is talented is understatement. Gifted sounds more appropriate.

Buy: And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness by Ólafur Arnalds. MP3 dl format/Audio CD
DL: Not Available as it seems the forum had removed the links. Try google it. If still not available can send me your email add and I can upload the album temporary for dl which of course the link will be send to you through email. 

Ólafur Arnalds - Hægt, kemur ljósið (Official Video Trailer)

This is not the song from this album. Is from his EP. Anyway, just listen to this song which he performed in 2007 in Iceland local TV which would give you what to expect in this album. It was stunning beautiful. I like the part where the bass kick-in. And the electronic buzzing sound is part of the song. Not some technical glitch.

...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness by Olafur Arnalds

Share

The Creatures In the Garden of Lady Walton by Clogs

To be honest I really have no idea, what should I write for this album by Clogs. This is their fifth album and the first non-instrumental from them.Yet,some of the tracks is instrumental. They have features guest vocalists Sufjan Stevens, Matt Berninger, and Shara Worden to sing a few tracks in this album. This is a really great album. Really good. I have no idea how should I classify this album though. Should I put it under 'classical'? But it does not seem classical to me at all. Instrumental?



The whole album is 'fresh'. Is really hard to find this kind of music and not to mention the fantastic music being played by this band. The music is intriguing and captivating. Not to mention, the voice of the guest vocalist which is absolutely fascinating. If you like Balmorhea or Rachel's or Yasushi Yoshida I think you would most probably like this band too.

The music is beautifully played by the band and when it matches with the vocal of the vocalist. Geez, it was mind blowing good. I like all the songs in this album. I will give it 5 out of 5. The track On the Edge is a piece of it own. The voice of Shara Worden is just fantastic. Her voice range is so diversify. She also sings in the track The Owl of Love. Magnificent! Same goes to I Used to Do which I really like the music that begins at 1.20mins. However, the track that pulled a string in my heart gotta be Last Song. I don’t know why but it just gave me this sense of peacefulness calm, serene. As like I was just standing beside the seaside looking at the horizon.

Buy the original to show your supports, you can buy from here. 

The Creatures In the Garden of Lady Walton by Clogs

Share