SAUR are a 4-piece instrumental rock band from Lisboa, Portugal. Their first release was an EP in 2011, which combined post-rock, math-rock, stoner and experimental rock influences. They were also in the Coronado Collective, which gathered many rising bands of the Portuguese independent scene, such as JIBOIA, Sequin, Equations, Lydia's Sleep, CANGARRA, etc. After playing several shows throughout Portugal they rented a van and made a tour around Spain, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, in 2013, with their collective band mates Equations. Since then, they have been slowly working on their first album - "Âmbar" - released on 2017 Christmas day. Âmbar is the footprint of the last 5 years of their slow-paced work.
Genre :
rock, hellverca, instrumental, math, post-rock, space, synth
| Facebook | Bandcamp | Website |
Joe Kenyon is a writer and musician from the Chemical Coast, Linden, New Jersey. After spending eight years in space as captain of an instrumental rock spaceship called Ruined Machines, Joe is now back to Earth, piecing together a life record, song by song. Here's another nostalgic, playful piece to the puzzle: "Seeing Stars, Circa 1999".
Two preliminary mixes from ‘Peace Talks,’ a record currently being lived and recorded. Drawing from post-rock and longform compositional influence, the storytelling heard in the sound is the core of what’s to be experienced.
Genre :
progressive, rock, composition, instrumental, metal, nostalgic, post-metal, post-rock, psychedelic, space
| Bandcamp | SoundCloud | Website |
Serene spellbinding worlds come together on the glistening waves of Shall Remain Nameless’s self-titled effort. Quite pastoral in its efforts the way the many layers converge into a singular whole feels deeply satisfying. Field recordings permeate the entirety of the album for the way they seem to simply immerse the listener in such a wild jungle of recordings feels positively liberating.
Drones remain equally important as Shall Remain Nameless touches upon some of Stars of the Lid’s more elegant, less-feedback laden later works. Classical helps to frame every piece for the songs resembles suites in a greater symphony.
“Forest Fly” carries the listener to a tranquil, exotic rain forest, inhabited by tropical wildlife. The inclusion of an enigmatically soothing sitar suggests that we are perhaps accompanied by an imaginary, mysteriously wise sherpa as our guide, giving the track a relaxed, melodic warmth.
Seamlessly shifting to the celestially- inspired “Sunshine In a Blackout”, subtle changes in this ambient orchestral production are somehow simultaneously glacial and emotionally uplifting.
Meanwhile ,“Uneven Terrain Pt 1” as its title suggests, leads the audience down a murky musical path as sinister whispers from dark forces fill the air in this curiously lurid nightmare. The resulting creation is dark ambience at its best.
The twisted nostalgia of “Coney Island Sideshow” presents an electronically intricate, if unsettling centerpiece for the album. The contrast of hypnotic sonic chattering and vocal snippets of family fun at the fair ground requires repeat listens to appreciate its many nuances.
As the album comes to a close “The Fear” reintroduces earlier themes; wide open musical landscapes, floating ambient melodies and electronica are all enhanced by selective samples of the human voice.
The artists influences : The Future Sound Of London,The Orb, Ambient music from the early 90's.
Genre :
ambient, electronic, experimental, chill, downtempo, space
| Bandcamp |
Arbor Lights have been making a racket in their home town of Birmingham since 2010. Greg, Alex, Matt and James stole their name from the pub where they met. They self-released their first single On A Sea in 2011, and a self-titled EP in 2012 & a full length album called "Hatherton Lake" in 2013. Since then they have gigged around Birmingham (and occasionally further afield) with too many amazing bands to name.
Last February Arbor Lights were invited to Birmingham City Uni to record a live session for their friends at Sunrunner Sessions. The video never came together but these four new songs feel like a nice snapshot of where they 've been since Hatherton Lake came out. This release, as ever, is pay-what-you-want, but all proceeds will be donated to a local charity. CHADD is a housing association working around the Black Country to provide shelter to the homeless, both young and old, and victims of domestic abuse. The work they do is more important than ever and they wanted to do their part to help a cause that's close to them on a personal level. Please consider giving generously.
Genre :
alternative, diy, experimental, rock, indie, instrumental, post-rock, space
Ali Murray is an ethereal folk songwriter/musician from the cold isle of Lewis in the north of Scotland. He writes dark atmospheric folk music with lush sweeping dreamy soundscapes and Celtic-twinged instrumentation. His new album LAND OF EVERGONE strikes a balance that is intimate and soaring, peaceful and haunting, sad and quietly joyful, delicately reverberating with Murray's dreamy voice and guitar playing.
Orellana is a neo-classical/post-rock collective hailing from Bristol, UK. Their new album “52”, released in late December, brought in the new year with it’s explosive and intricate sound. The project’s music transcends genre definitions in order to focus on a broad, diverse concept that is more emotional than tangible. This particular release is full of rich and diverse arrangements, but it is also a powerful exercise in minimalism, one that showcases the strength of very few notes placed in the right spots. The simplicity of the arrangement is actually one of the strongest aspects of this entire release: there’s a palpable stillness created by the long, drone notes in the background, which almost makes you feel like the world is happening in slow motion. When the chords and notes change, it feels quite monumental due to the beautiful contrast between the stillness of the background textures and the expressive sound of the guitar-based melodies.