Fennesz | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Viennese musician Christian Fennesz creates densely layered, emotionally engaging electronic music primarily using an electric guitar processed using a laptop computer, redefining the possibilities of both instruments. His best-known works, such as the widely praised 2001 full-length Endless Summer, blend abrasive glitches with soothing melodies nodding to classic rock, pop, and surf music, resulting in a challenging yet accessible form of experimental ambient music. In addition to other accomplished solo albums such as 2004s Venice and 2014s Bécs, Fenneszs vast discography includes numerous collaborations, generally improvised, ranging from the often playful abstractions of Fenn OBerg (his trio with Jim ORourke and Peter "Pita" Rehberg) to more isolationist outings with Sparklehorse and King Midas Sound, as well as serene, piano-based meditations with Ryuichi Sakamoto. Fennesz has also performed ensemble pieces for conceptual and multimedia art installations. Fennesz began playing guitar as a child and later went to art school to pursue music studies. Beginning in 1988, he sang and played guitar in an art rock band called Maische, who released two albums before disbanding in 1992. His first solo work for Mego, the Instrument EP, was released in 1995 and featured four tracks of stunning, uncompromising ambient and electro-acoustic music, combining elements of experimental electro-techno with heavily treated guitar and electronics. Hotel Paral.lel followed in 1997, and Fenneszs 1998 single Plays contained nearly unrecognizable abstract "covers" of the Rolling Stones "Paint It Black" and the Beach Boys "Dont Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)." 1999 saw the release of several collaborative albums, including The Magic Sound of Fenn OBerg (Mego) and Music for an Isolation Tank with Zeitblom and Rantasa (on Rhiz Records). Fenneszs second solo album, Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51 08", a more ambient effort recorded in his backyard, was issued by Touch in late 1999. Endless Summer, released in 2001, brought him back to the Mego fold. Much more melodic and accessible than his previous work, the album blended Beach Boys-inspired melodies with cutting-edge laptop production techniques and harsh glitching. The album was a huge critical success, charting in numerous year-end (and eventually decade-end) best-of lists, and establishing his reputation as one of experimental electronic musics most well-respected artists. The following year, Touch released Field Recordings 1995-2002, which compiled the Instrument EP along with various compilation tracks and remixes. More collaborations appeared, including a split EP with Main on FatCat Records, Wrapped Islands with Polwechsel on Erstwhile Records, Invisible Architecture #2 with Mika Vainio on Audiosphere, and The Return of Fenn OBerg on Mego. Japanese label Headz released Fenneszs solo disc Live in Japan in 2003, which helped build momentum for the highly anticipated Venice, released by Touch in 2004. Including a guest appearance by vocalist David Sylvian, the album was another critical success. After collaborative albums with AMM co-founder Keith Rowe and French artist eRikm, Fennesz began collaborating with composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Ryuichi Sakamoto, first on the 2005 EP Sala Santa Cecilia and then on 2007 full-length Cendre, both issued by Touch. His next solo album, the darker Black Sea, appeared on Touch in 2008. He released two singles as part of Touchs 7" series: the solo release Transition and Amoroso with Philip Jeck and Charles Matthews. A collaboration with Sparklehorse as part of the In the Fishtank series was released by Konkurrent in 2009. In 2010, Fenn OBerg released the studio album In Stereo as well as two Live in Japan LPs, all on Editions Mego. Fennesz also mixed Something That Has Form and Something That Does Not by Steven Hess and Sylvain Chauveaus project On, which was issued by Type. Yet another collaborative release, Knoxville (Thrill Jockey, 2010) was an improvised live recording with drummer Tony Buck and fellow guitarist David Daniell. Limited cassettes Szampler and Remiksz (with Stefan Goldmann) appeared on the Tapeworm during the same year. In 2011, Fennesz released the solo EP Seven Stars on Touch. A second collaboration with Sakamoto, double-CD Flumina, also appeared on Touch that year. Fenn OBergs In Hell was issued by Editions Mego in March of 2012, and the soundtrack album AUN: The Beginning and End of All Things (including solo Fennesz pieces as well as collaborations with Sakamoto) was released by Ash International a few months later. Fennesz also made his return to Editions Mego as a solo artist with Fa 2012, an unusually dance-oriented single which included a remix by Mark Fell. Double-live LP 17.02.12 appeared on Song Cycle in 2013, with a limited box set edition including a CD and two DVDs. Tribute to John Cage in Four Parts, a tribute to John Cage recorded live with Patrick Pulsinger, was released by Col Legno that year. 2014s Bécs saw Fennesz wrapping his electro-acoustic processing around live drums and modular synthesizers. Conceived as the sequel to Endless Summer, the album was released by Editions Mego. Fennesz contributed to David Sylvians spoken word album Theres a Light That Enters Houses with No Other House in Sight, released by Samadhisound near the end of 2014. In 2015, Fennesz and King Midas Sound released the predominantly ambient Edition 1 on Ninja Tune. Also that year, AirEffect (with Ozmotic) appeared on German label Folk Wisdom. Fenneszs Mahler Remix, based on Gustav Mahlers symphonies and originally released digitally in 2014, was given a double-vinyl issue by Touch in early 2016. Later in the year, Editions Mego released Its Hard for Me to Say Im Sorry, the first duo collaboration between Fennesz and Jim ORourke. Returning to Touch, Fennesz released the two-song single Station One in 2018. This was followed in 2019 by Agora, a stripped-down full-length recorded in the artists flat after he lost access to a proper studio. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 31 Title: Instrument Released: 1995-10 Tracks: 4 Duration: 21:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 1 (05:23) 2 2 (06:00) 3 3 (05:08) 4 4 (04:52) |
 | Album: 2 of 31 Title: Hotel Paral.lel Released: 1997-09 Tracks: 14 Duration: 52:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Sz (05:23) 2 Nebenraum (04:16) 3 Zeug (01:08) 4 Blok M (04:14) 5 Santora (05:06) 6 Dheli Plaza (06:13) 7 Fa (04:33) 8 Traxdata (04:08) 9 Gr-500 (01:13) 10 Szabo (05:24) 11 Uds (03:33) 12 Herbert Missing (00:31) 13 Super Feedbacker (02:23) 14 Aus (03:59) |
 | Album: 3 of 31 Title: Charhizma 002 Released: 1999 Tracks: 5 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Graz (?) 2 Wels (?) 3 Nickelsdorf 1 (?) 4 Nickelsdorf 2 (?) 5 Bern (?) |
 | Album: 4 of 31 Title: Music for an Isolation Tank Released: 1999-05 Tracks: 2 Duration: 56:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Music for an Isolation Tank, Part I (29:43) 2 Music for an Isolation Tank, Part II (26:30) |
| Music for an Isolation Tank : Allmusic album Review : The isolation tank refers to the bio-adapter, an idealized artificial environment proposed by Austrian futurist Oscar Wiener. Designed to facilitate both sensory deprivation and functional sufficiency, Wieners uterus-like conception is intended as "a total solution of the worlds problems." While the bio-adapter remains a bit of ideological fancy, MUSIC FOR AN ISOLATION TANK offers the next best thing: an acoustic approximation of how the bio-adapter experience might sound. Not many recordings advise listening with earplugs, let alone via speakers immersed in water and at a near-inaudible level, for maximum effect. For all practical purposes, a dark room and a comfortably prostrate state should suffice. Fennesz, Zeitblom, and Rantasa supply the audio clues--the lapping of amniotic liquid, osmotic suck(l)ing sounds, diffused beeps and bumps, the muffled murmurs of bio-adaptive transmitters--that set the mood. Tremendous shudders and the steady drizzle of sampled information kick the imagination into high gear. Fenneszs fingerprint is evident in the shimmering, liquid crystal quality and clarity of the discs digital sounds. MUSIC FOR AN ISOLATION TANK was first realized as an installation at 1999s phonoTAKTIK festival. This recording admirably recreates the experience, evoking immersion and isolation through digital artifice. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 31 Title: Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56′ 37″ Minus Sixteen Degrees 51′ 08″ Released: 1999-12 Tracks: 8 Duration: 38:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 010 (04:43) 2 011 (02:49) 3 012 (03:29) 4 013 (06:20) 5 014 (08:08) 6 015 (08:03) 7 016 (02:27) 8 017 (02:02) |
| Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56′ 37″ Minus Sixteen Degrees 51′ 08″ : Allmusic album Review : On Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51 08, Fennesz is concerned with creating extremely dense and enveloping sound textures, essentially forgoing rhythmic or melodic development. The CD comes in an impressive cardboard slipcase adorned with photographs of nature colliding with technology, and a similar aesthetic prevails in the music. Fennesz seems interested in exploring electronic sound at an almost a molecular level, and the result is a complex, organic, and at times very beautiful noise. "Track 5" (there are no song titles) is the most challenging music here, consisting of deep, almost cello-like drones intertwined with extremely harsh static. There is a palpable tension between the two elements on this track that might remind some of a more avant-garde and (it must be said) abrasive version of My Bloody Valentine. "Track 4" displays Fennesz virtuosity with microtonal manipulation, as tiny fragments of sound, possibly sampled guitar harmonics, seem to vibrate in place and undergo subtle variations with time. "Track 7" may incorporate some sort of field recordings into the mix, as atmospheric, industrial noises are blended with jarring guitar distortion. An interest in noise music is necessary, but those so inclined will find Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56 37" Minus Sixteen Degrees 51 08" to be a challenging and rewarding album of abstract beauty. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 31 Title: Afternoon Tea Released: 2000 Tracks: 2 Duration: 43:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Afternoon Tea 1 (19:13) 2 Afternoon Tea 2 (24:34) |
| Afternoon Tea : Allmusic album Review : This group of minimal electronica newcomers join elder statesman of the avant-garde Keith Rowe, a guitarist most recognized as a member of pioneering British improvisation group AMM. The abstractionist was creating music from noise and other sonic detritus as early as the mid-60s and quite possibly before his collaborators on this album were born. The Austrian avant-garde/IDM label Megos masthead Powerbook noise artist Pita and Fennesz join the Australian wing of abstract electronica -- Oren Ambarchi and Pimmon -- in a work in which they collectively assimilate their computers into an outstanding improvisation with the British "prepared" guitarist. While Keith Rowes instrument may be from another era, his six strings are not lacking the sonic potential of the computer music era of his collaborators, not by any means. In fact, Afternoon Tea does not have the sound of an ad hoc free improvisation night as it apparently was. Inasmuch, the work of this quintet sounds strikingly familiar to the emphatic electro-acoustic music of the Ritornell label; hence it makes for one of the most compelling documents of both free improvisation and electronica. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 31 Title: Light Released: 2001-05 Tracks: 4 Duration: 23:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Meteosat (05:52) 2 C-Street (05:00) 3 When I Leave (Finely Tuned version) (06:48) 4 Algae & Fungi (Candelaria version) (05:44) |
 | Album: 8 of 31 Title: Endless Summer Released: 2001-06-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Made in Hong Kong (04:22) 2 Endless Summer (08:29) 3 Ohne Sonne (?) 4 A Year in a Minute (06:00) 5 Caecilia (03:51) 6 Got to Move On (03:47) 7 Endless (02:01) 8 Shisheido (02:55) 9 Before I Leave (04:06) 10 Badminton Girl (04:04) 11 47 Blues (03:01) 12 Happy Audio (Forever) (?) |
| Endless Summer : Allmusic album Review : With a title and cover artwork so obviously referring to the Beach Boys, one had to anticipate that this 2001 full-length CD by Fennesz would be more melodious than usual. It is, but youll only get as close to surf music as the imagination of an experimental electronica artist from Vienna, Austria, will allow you to -- and thats still quite far. Fennesz puts the emphasis on sunny melodies and a somewhat lighter atmosphere, but drowns them in glitch textures. The result strikes and disconcerts. Easy solutions do not fill this mans cup of tea. The melodies are never played throughout, but dismembered, notes assigned to different instruments or electronically cut up and reassembled. The vibraphone in "Caecilia" has been tripled, some notes appear upfront, parts of the main theme happen in the background. Another example: The long notes making up the main line in "Before I Leave" are played on a organ, but the sound is constantly interrupted by clicks, producing an analog/digital effect of the weirdest kind. The pieces themselves are bipolar: while the melody remains stuck in its groove, repeating endlessly in post-rock fashion, the textures evolve beautifully. Yet, the listener is left with a deceiving impression of stagnation. The ultra kitsch flavor of some cuts (like "Shisheido") makes for an incentive to climb aboard or go away, depending on the listeners interest (or resistance) to 1970s nostalgia. Scoffing the fan, the album closes with the long (11 minutes) "Happy Audio," a typical example of Fenneszs magic experimental ambient touch. Endless Summer is brilliantly conceived and masterfully executed, but the listener comes out of it with mixed feelings and many questions left unanswered. Isnt that the sign of important art? | ||
 | Album: 9 of 31 Title: Phonographics 1-5 Released: 2002 Tracks: 5 Duration: 17:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Phonographics 1 (05:18) 2 Phonographics 2 (01:49) 3 Phonographics 3 (04:13) 4 Phonographics 4 (02:11) 5 Phonographics 5 (04:22) |
 | Album: 10 of 31 Title: Dawn Released: 2002-03 Tracks: 1 Duration: 41:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dawn (41:39) |
 | Album: 11 of 31 Title: Invisible Architecture #2 Released: 2002-03-08 Tracks: 2 Duration: 1:06:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 34′20″ (34:23) 2 32′19″ (32:16) |
 | Album: 12 of 31 Title: Wrapped Islands Released: 2002-05 Tracks: 8 Duration: 53:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Framing 1 (12:25) 2 Framing 2 (05:03) 3 Framing 3 (07:55) 4 Framing 4 (04:50) 5 Framing 5 (08:08) 6 Framing 6 (04:45) 7 Framing 7 (07:26) 8 Framing 8 (02:29) |
 | Album: 13 of 31 Title: FatCat Split Series #15 Released: 2002-08-19 Tracks: 6 Duration: 28:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Badminton Girl (04:30) 2 Eisrennen (06:00) 3 47 Blues (03:00) 4 Rive, Part 1 (03:04) 5 Rive, Part 2 (07:49) 6 Rive, Part 3 (04:26) |
 | Album: 14 of 31 Title: Field Recordings 1995:2002 Released: 2002-10-28 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Good Man (04:05) 2 Instrument 1 (05:27) 3 Instrument 2 (06:05) 4 Instrument 3 (05:16) 5 Instrument 4 (05:05) 6 Betrieb (remix) (03:55) 7 Menthol (03:50) 8 Surf (05:36) 9 Stairs (01:28) 10 Ivend00 (01:30) 11 Namewithnohorse (02:02) 12 Odessa (01:28) 13 Codeine (remix) (05:17) |
| Field Recordings 1995:2002 : Allmusic album Review : The title of this collection and the beautiful photographs chosen by Jon Wozencroft for the packaging hint at something bucolic and down to earth, framing this electronic and rather abstract music in a paradoxical setting. After all, art is often born out of contrasts. Field Recordings 1995-2002 culls rare EPs and compilation tracks by one of experimental electronicas prominent names, Fennesz. Served like a platter of hors doeuvres to new fans waiting for a follow-up to Endless Summer, it has its highs and lows. Comp contributions often become occasions to try something different. Fennesz makes no exception. Not quite as defined as his album cuts, the tracks here chronicle the sidesteps that led him from Hotel Paral.lel to Endless Summer. The album opens with "Good Man," a new piece completed for this collection. Very dense and made of alternating sections of noise-drenched melodies, quiet drones, and harsh noise, it will raise anyones hopes as to the quality of his next album. This is followed by the entirety of his EP Instrument, first released on 12" vinyl in the early days of the label Mego. Then listeners find a number of tracks that appeared on compilations released by Ash International and Mille Plateaux, remixes for Ekkehard Ehlers and Stephan Mathieu, plus two cuts from the Blue Moon soundtrack -- many of these are labeled "new version" to attract early fans, but in some cases the differences remain very subtle. "Good Man," "Surf," the Instrument material, and the polluted guitar ballad "Codeine" provide a handful of highlights that make this disc worthwhile, but newcomers should start with Fenneszs "real" albums. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 31 Title: Live at the LU Released: 2004 Tracks: 4 Duration: 43:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 [untitled] (12:52) 2 [untitled] (07:35) 3 [untitled] (11:36) 4 [untitled] (11:26) |
 | Album: 16 of 31 Title: GRM Experience Released: 2004 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:01:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Iraqs Song (05:57) 2 Dark Landscape (02:25) 3 White Landscape (03:55) 4 Premonition (03:55) 5 First Shadows (01:45) 6 Transfers (07:17) 7 Colour (08:14) 8 Last Shadows (04:56) 9 Waves (05:19) 10 Traces (01:59) 11 Nostalgia (06:32) 12 Power (09:00) |
 | Album: 17 of 31 Title: Venice Released: 2004-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 49:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rivers of Sand (04:42) 2 Château rouge (06:40) 3 City of Light (06:34) 4 Onsra (00:20) 5 Circassian (05:49) 6 Onsay (01:08) 7 The Other Face (03:25) 8 Transit (04:59) 9 The Point of It All (05:01) 10 Laguna (02:56) 11 Asusu (00:55) 12 The Stone of Impermanence (06:37) |
| Venice : Allmusic album Review : Talk about "highly anticipated": fans of Fennesz had three years to marvel in his Endless Summer CD. Meanwhile, the album became a hit in left-field electronica, exerted a major influence on countless sound-alikes, and even allowed Fennesz to break -- however slightly -- into the mainstream. Is Venice better than Endless Summer? No, but the fact that it doesnt disappoint, despite the expectations generated by this bona fide follow-up, is by itself a commanding feat. The reason why Venice doesnt top its predecessor is because it follows a rather similar recipe and therefore lacks the effect of surprise. Otherwise, it is a very fine release, highly enjoyable yet genre-pushing, and unmistakably Fennesz from beginning to end. The melodies that haunted Endless Summers washes of granulated noise are still present, although in a more subtle form. Except for one standout exception, you wont be whistling these tunes in the shower, as the melodic component is more evanescent, but the impression of listening to "songs" remains strong. In that respect, highlights include the delicate opener "Rivers of Sand" and "The Point of It All." The album features two extra contributors. One of them was predictable; after all, Fennesz had appeared in duet with David Sylvian on the latters 2003 solo CD, Blemish. They do it again in "Transit," a beautiful song about departures that makes one think the pair should definitely work on a full-scale collaborative project (it could be Sylvians best collaboration since the Sylvian/Fripp albums). The second guest is Viennese guitarist Burkhard Stangl, a maverick improviser and puzzling experimentalist. His appearance on two tracks, "Laguna" and "Circassian" (the latter another highlight) follows up on Fenneszs 2002 collaboration with his improv quartet, Polwechsel. These two pieces (on which Fennesz joins on guitar) have a light post-folk flavor. The album is marvelously sequenced, with short soundscapes articulating mood shifts. The only weak point is found in the closing track, "The Stone of Impermanence," significantly harsher in texture and sound than what came before, which makes for an uncomfortable finale -- the piece would have worked better at midpoint, tempered by gentler neighbors. Still, Venice is another success and every bit as delightful as its predecessor. The presence of David Sylvian will make it easier for new fans to jump in. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 31 Title: Sala Santa Cecilia Released: 2005-06-27 Tracks: 1 Duration: 19:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sala Santa Cecilia (19:00) |
 | Album: 19 of 31 Title: Cendre Released: 2007-03-28 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Oto (03:49) 2 Aware (04:46) 3 Haru (04:39) 4 Trace (05:46) 5 Kuni (02:24) 6 Mono (04:13) 7 Kokoro (04:16) 8 Cendre (03:09) 9 Amorph (05:58) 10 Glow (07:12) 11 Abyss (05:38) |
| Cendre : Allmusic album Review : A collaboration between two of the best-known names in ambient music, the Japanese musician Ryuchi Sakamoto and the Austrian electronica artist Christian Fennesz, CENDRE is a hushed delight from start to finish, containing stately, minimalist pieces such as "Aware," "Kuni," and "Amorph." Fennesz provides the weightless electronic backdrop, into which Sakamoto drops precise chords that ripple the aural surface like smooth pebbles dropped into a pool. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 31 Title: Black Sea Released: 2008-11-17 Tracks: 8 Duration: 52:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Black Sea (10:11) 2 The Colour of Three (08:06) 3 Perfume for Winter (04:35) 4 Grey Scale (04:09) 5 Glide (09:22) 6 Vacuum (03:58) 7 Glass Ceiling (05:48) 8 Saffron Revolution (05:52) |
 | Album: 21 of 31 Title: In the Fishtank 15 Released: 2009-09-14 Tracks: 7 Duration: 40:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Music Box of Snakes (09:46) 2 Goodnight Sweetheart (05:24) 3 Shai-Hulud (02:36) 4 If My Heart (05:13) 5 Marks Guitar Piece (04:27) 6 NC Bongo Buddy (11:24) 7 Christians Guitar Piece (01:28) |
 | Album: 22 of 31 Title: Knoxville Released: 2010-08-24 Tracks: 4 Duration: 31:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Unüberwindbare Wände (08:33) 2 Heat From Light (09:23) 3 Antonia (06:05) 4 Diamond Mind (07:07) |
| Knoxville : Allmusic album Review : Christian Fennesz (guitar, electronics), David Daniell (guitar), and the Necks Tony Buck (drums) recorded this improvised set at Knoxille, TN’s Big Ears Festival in February 2009. Soundcheck excepted, the trio members had never played with one another. That makes the intuitive, continual rise and drop of energy all the more impressive, but no context is required for the sake of enjoying these four bristling instrumentals. The quietest moments tend to be as tense as the loudest, and the contrasts -- lambent, sparsely played guitar offset by skittering and rattling cymbals and transitory electronic thrums, for instance -- are deeply affecting with close listening. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 31 Title: Seven Stars Released: 2011-07-25 Tracks: 4 Duration: 18:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Liminal (03:07) 2 July (05:06) 3 Shift (06:47) 4 Seven Stars (03:01) |
 | Album: 24 of 31 Title: Flumina Released: 2011-08-15 Tracks: 24 Duration: 2:04:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 0318 (04:27) 2 0319 (05:40) 3 0320 (04:43) 4 0322 (05:35) 5 0324 (06:49) 6 0325 (04:20) 7 0327 (05:30) 8 0328 (05:30) 9 0330 (04:44) 10 0401 (04:55) 11 0402 (06:15) 12 0404 (04:34) 1 0405 (04:51) 2 0407 (04:38) 3 0409 (04:53) 4 0411 (05:23) 5 0415 (05:14) 6 0417 (03:44) 7 0419 (05:00) 8 0423 (05:17) 9 0424 (04:28) 10 0425 (06:56) 11 0428 (04:55) 12 0429 (05:58) |
| Flumina : Allmusic album Review : This double disc is a collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz, with the former man taking a decidedly dominant role throughout. The concept behind the album is fairly straightforward: on each night of a 24-date tour, Sakamoto wrote and performed a piano piece in a different key. By tours end, hed explored every possible tonal variation within Western notation. He provided these short, jewel-like solo piano melodies to Fennesz, who laid them in soft beds of gently caressing electronics. The results are very pretty...but theyre not much more than that. Flumina is a decidedly insubstantial album. Despite the key changes from track to track, the two discs retain a single mood from beginning to end. Each piece feels like it should be playing over the end credits of an indie film about a man who falls in love with a young woman who then dies of a lingering illness. Its hard to convince oneself to listen to this music with focused attention, hard to imagine playing it at top volume; it seems designed to hover in the background, covering the sound of clinking glassware and forks tapping plates and blending smoothly with subdued conversation. All of which is fine. If thats what youre looking for from a two-CD, two-hour set of music, Flumina will meet your needs and then some. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 31 Title: AUN - The Beginning and the End of All Things Released: 2012-06-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 53:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Kae (02:11) 2 Aware (04:46) 3 Haru (04:39) 4 Sekai (02:14) 5 Euclides (03:03) 6 Sasazuka (03:50) 7 Trace (05:46) 8 Mori (01:15) 9 AUN40 (05:06) 10 Nemuru (02:49) 11 Himitsu (02:45) 12 AUN80 (05:06) 13 Nympha (02:30) 14 Shinu (03:35) 15 Hikari (04:16) |
 | Album: 26 of 31 Title: Bécs Released: 2014-04-28 Tracks: 7 Duration: 43:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Static Kings (05:46) 2 The Liar (04:37) 3 Liminality (10:00) 4 Pallas Athene (06:10) 5 Bécs (05:43) 6 Sav (07:35) 7 Paroles (03:36) |
 | Album: 27 of 31 Title: Aireffect Released: 2015-08-07 Tracks: 7 Duration: 45:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ferment_Action (06:15) 2 Hydros (P) (06:09) 3 Run to Ruin (06:30) 4 Anthropocene (07:56) 5 Liquid Mrkt (06:57) 6 Clone 15.26 (06:33) 7 Epilogo (05:24) |
 | Album: 28 of 31 Title: Edition 1 Released: 2015-09-15 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:59:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mysteries (04:42) 2 On My Mind (03:32) 3 Waves (07:24) 4 Loving or Leaving (05:48) 5 Melt (05:09) 6 Lighthouse (05:03) 7 Above Water (13:53) 8 We Walk Together (05:41) 9 Our Love (08:07) 1 Mystery Version (Instrumental) (04:44) 2 Mind Version (Instrumental) (03:34) 3 Wave Version (Instrumental) (07:21) 4 Leaving Version (Instrumental) (05:32) 5 Melt Version (Instrumental) (05:08) 6 Lighthouse Version (Instrumental) (05:26) 7 Above Water (Instrumental) (13:53) 8 Walk Version (Instrumental) (05:55) 9 Love Version (Instrumental) (08:06) |
| Edition 1 : Allmusic album Review : Edition 1 breaks an almost four-year period of near silence from King Midas Sound. As producer Kevin Martin and vocalists Kiki Hitomi and Roger Robinson pursued individualized outlets, little was heard from them as a unit apart from "Aroo," a single issued in 2013 that marked their move from Hyperdub to Ninja Tune. The A-side was a sweetly battering dub/shoegaze hybrid, conceivably informed by the aggressive temperament the groups performances had taken, while "Funny Love" was a tearful ambient ballad. The B-side turned out to be a prelude of sorts to the primarily beat-less Edition 1, the first in a series of four album-length KMS collaborations. Christian Fennesz was sought for input and obliged with new, improvised work and access to previously unreleased recordings. Its surprising not to hear any of the guitarists bristlier tones here; imagining how Martin could manipulate something like "The Liar," off Bécs, is tantalizing. Instead, its mostly soft waves with gradual undulations and dark undercurrents, and they have a way of evoking a relationships slow motion drowning as much as the reverb-cloaked but intelligible voices. In the opening "Mysteries," a forlorn Robinson sings, "I waited for you, but you never came," and makes the emotional likeness to Waiting for You instant and plain. The song, as well as much of what follows, is spacier in relation to that album, with only the pained "On My Mind" and in-flux "Loving or Leaving" dealing out penetrating low end through wrenching basslines and resonant drums. The latter is the closest Martin has verged toward pop, from its size and structure to its winding synthesizer patterns that escalate in tandem with Hitomis wistful chorus. As crucial as Hitomi and Robinson are to the albums effect, one of the highlights is a doleful 14-minute instrumental with faint bass, creeping drones, and chilling vibraphone reverberations. | ||
 | Album: 29 of 31 Title: Mahler Remix Released: 2016-01-29 Tracks: 4 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mahler Remix 1 (?) 2 Mahler Remix 2 (?) 1 Mahler Remix 3 (?) 2 Mahler Remix 4 (?) |
 | Album: 30 of 31 Title: It’s Hard for Me to Say I’m Sorry Released: 2016-05-25 Tracks: 2 Duration: 38:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Just Want You to Stay (18:09) 2 Wouldn’t Wanna Be Swept Away (20:14) |
 | Album: 31 of 31 Title: Agora Released: 2019-03-29 Tracks: 4 Duration: 47:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In My Room (12:28) 2 Rainfall (11:58) 3 Agora (12:09) 4 We Trigger the Sun (10:29) |