Browsing Tag

Soundscape

Steve Nicosia scored a scintillating ambient fantasy in his instrumental curtain call, End of the Event

Posted on 12 March 2023

Taken from his hotly anticipated Matter of Time EP, the standout single, End of the Event, from the eclectically inspired artist Steve Nicosia is a filmic sonic fantasy that invites you to lose yourself in the scintillatingly structured ambience.

Short of implanting yourself back in the womb, there are few sanctuaries on our intrepid scorched earth as cathartic as the one that unfolds under the duress of the cinematic sound designer.

Extended preludes may be becoming a thing of the past in the streaming era of music. Yet, End of the Event proves that they are anything but outdated. The gentle orchestral swells, classical guitars, and piano motifs gradually build from the mid-way mark in this daydream of a release that progressively rewards you for your immersion.

As the layered melodies gently crescendo, the sense of arrestive awe for Nicosia’s talent when weaving an instrumental narrative will viscerally heighten. I feel like I’ve just heard the curtains close on humanity, and it deserves a standing ovation.

The Matter of Time EP is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pedro set a cinematically arcane score with ‘Súplicas à Floresta’

Posted on 15 February 2023

Princeton, NJ-residing Portuguese artist and engineering student Pedro Pimenta is here with his dramatically filmic score, Súplicas à Floresta. The scintillating arrangement is just a taste of what is to come from the up-and-coming artist and producer, who takes inspiration from the roads he has travelled in addition to spiritually-centred artists, including Bjork, Arca and La Rosalia.

With the shimmering organ notes drifting above the contrast of the eerily ethereal electronic motifs in the cinematically synthesised soundscape that also pulls you through jarringly immersive orchestral layers, Súplicas à Floresta is an arrestive experimental arrangement with deep reverence for the natural and cultural phenomena it was inspired by. If the score was the soundtrack to a film, it would undoubtedly be a Cannes Film Festival favourite.

Súplicas à Floresta will officially release on February 15th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Philip Pendleton has unveiled his chilling synth score, Welcome to Orange County

Posted on 5 October 2022

Videogame composer, instrumentalist and songwriter Philip Pendleton has released his latest instrumental synth score, Welcome to Orange County. The subversively chilly soundscape detracts from the warm LA warmth to introduce you to a darker side of the metropolis.

The ornate synths carry orchestral undertones in their glassily spacey timbre, bringing with them a beguiling sense of dystopia while you immerse yourself in the UK-born, USA-residing composer’s depiction of the region.

Being the son of the founder of the 60s pop group, Pretty Things could have easily left Pendleton in the shadow of his father’s supremacy; on the basis of his accoladed career and the cinematic distinction in Welcome to Orange County, he notably stepped into his own limelight.

Welcome to Orange County officially released on September 21st. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go into the wild with Joseph Lothian’s chamber pop release, Glacial and Spa

Posted on 23 February 2022

The South London songwriter and writer, Joseph Lothian, has recently released his sophomore album, which is a continuation of the wild and verdant chamber pop soundscapes in his 2020 debut album, Wilderness Music.

Wilderness Music Continued (Rain, Fire), is a meditatively artful infusion of electronic folk, indie and alt-pop which focuses on the act of songwriting, with a view to how it creates comfort and value in otherwise inhospitable environments. It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. Without the icons that have defined the culture in the UK, how disparate would our streets feel? How many outliers would know nothing of experimental expression or know how it feels to find their mindset tribe?

The standout single, Glacial and Spa, is just as evocative as an Angel Olsen release with the vibrato on the vocal. Yet, within the lush textures of the chamber pop single, there’s a nuanced reminder of our roots and the fact that we were never really supposed to endure post-industrialised isolation.

Joseph Lothian’s sophomore album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Immerse yourselves in the radiant catharsis of Sound Animal’s ambient instrumental score, Dew of the Sea

Posted on 13 February 2022

“Dew of the Sea” is just one of the recently released instantly arresting ambient singles from the avant-garde US artist Sound Animal. Despite its quiescence, the panoramic release feels just as titanic as, well, Titanic.

Within the transient waves that pulsate with celestial timbre spilling from them, there are smoky jazz timbres that come up for air between the crescendos. Towards the outro, the intensity and urgency amplify – just don’t forget to breathe.

This stunning electro-acoustic score was orchestrated on an eclectic range of instruments, such as flutes, melodica, harmonica and a dulcimer played with a violin bow, giving the soundscape an organically meditative feel with just the slightest nuance of folk while being the epitome of radiant catharsis.

You can immerse yourselves in Dew of the Sea by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Wilson composed disarming etherealism with his upcoming soundscape, Echoes.

Posted on 1 February 2022
John Wilson

The UK multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, songwriter, artist, poet, author, tutor and CEO of Consciousness Productions Ltd, John Wilson, has given us a sneak preview of the etherealism that is to come in his upcoming 5-track EP by teasing us with ‘Echoes’.

The reverb-laden composition is a crystal-clear reflection of the artist’s influences that stretch far beyond music genres. For his eery yet consoling all the same soundscape, he found inspiration in spirituality, science, world culture, literature and videogames to deliver a phantasmally cathartic release. Echoes is simultaneously everything it says on the tin and so much more.

Check out the Consciousness Productions Ltd label yourselves on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud and YouTube. Follow John Wilson’s other endeavours via his Facebook and Insta artist accounts.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sonophonix drive us ‘Crazy In Love’ with their latest single

Posted on 5 October 2020
https://vimeo.com/461511090

Commencing with a beautiful, arpeggiated piano motif before being joined by the deep, sonorous swell of cello, ‘Crazy In Love’ is a beautiful, haunting piece, an instrumental duet of resonant, musical artistry and elegance that showcases the talents of two incredible musicians.

Pianist Deborah Robb and cellist Xue Yang Liu met while students at the Mannes School of Music at the New School in New York City.  While attending Mannes they performed chamber music together and were members of the Mannes American Composers Ensemble (MACE) under the direction of composer Lowell Liebermann.  Their Sonophonix duo merges their composing, arranging and improvisation skills, and ‘Crazy In Love’ is a perfect example of their art, allowing each performer the personal space to breathe whilst intertwining their individual contributions into something altogether greater, a delicate, mellow, composition of refinement and elegance that transcends the classical genre and becomes something altogether of its own.

Crazy In Love can be heard from the Sonophonix website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Hervé Claude has released their exotically inviting instrumental soul single “Freeze”

Posted on 13 August 2020

Hervé Claude didn’t need lyrics or vocals to infuse plenty of soul into their exotically inviting soundscape “Freeze” which can be found on their dreamy 2020 album “Saturday Morning”

The hazy single plays with ambient EDM and instrumental Hip Hop textures to keep you guessing where the seamlessly mellifluous progressions are going to take you next. Spoiler: if you surrender to their tranquilly resolving vibes, you’ll be guided into a zen state of mind where it’s possible to forget the chaos of the external world and become one with this sublime feat of soulful ambience.

If you could use some aural catharsis, Hervé Claude’s 2020 album has you covered.

You can check out Hervé Claude’s single Freeze along with the rest of the album by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

J. Anthony Gomez has made their debut with the entrancingly trippy soundscape “Hypnagogia”

Posted on 13 July 2020

Electronica artist and producer J. Anthony Gomez has made their debut with their absorbingly mesmeric soundscape “Hypnagogia”

For those not in the know, Hypnagogia is the trippy part between wakefulness and sleep where you’re not quite in control of your consciousness and hallucinations can manifest.

J. Anthony Gomez paid a fitting ode to the mental state with the almost tribal explorative loops which meandered with no mind to traditional time signatures. Instead, they weaved through the ambiently multi-layered atmospheric soundscape arresting your pulses until the track succinctly fades to quiescent resolving close.

We will definitely be paying attention to future releases from J. Anthony Gomez, their ability to deftly craft hypnotic electronic textures.

You can check out J. Anthony Gomez’s single Hypnagogia for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud. Probably wouldn’t recommend listening to the mind-altering mix while driving.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Composer and Pianist JxPrezzo Has Released Their Tenderly Explorative 4-Track EP “Seven Years”

Posted on 26 June 2020

London-based composer and pianist JxPrezzo has crafted four delicately unique Neo-Classic soundscapes for their latest instrumental EP “Seven Years”.

After an intro track which is all too efficacious at pulling you into the release, you get to the title track which is the best example of how JxPrezzo’s tender melodies can tell a story. From tentative, explorative notes which ring with optimism to stabbing atmospheric dread, Seven Years is a deftly-orchestrated evocative rollercoaster.

As you listen to the light yet fluid textures in the soundscape, you can almost feel the tension in your body being replaced with the quiescently comforting tones. But if you’re as aurally sensitive as me, when the minor notes are hit, you won’t just hear them, you’ll feel them. My eyes may now sting a little, but that’s a small price to pay for experiencing such a gentle yet resounding release.

You can check out the Seven Years EP for yourselves by heading over to Apple Music or SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast