Etiqueta: field recordings

Facets is the new Chillout | Lounge double CD album released by Landru. With Facets, Landru shows his most intimate and serene side. It is definitely a delicate work, characterized by the coexistence of instruments, percussions and melodies from different cultures all around the world. An album that represents the consolidated maturity of Landru in the chillout music scene.

Facets consists of one CD including 15 new unreleased tracks and a second CD with remixed versions of the original tracks made by the most representative ambient and chillout artists from Spain.

All music were composed, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by Landru at Atavachron Studios, Barcelona, during 2012. Fractals, layout and cover art were also provided by Landru.

Available at Bandcamp

Scotoma is without any doubt, the darkest ambient album released by Landru so far. Scotoma is full of intriguing noises and background drones capable of creating an enigmatic and invisible atmosphere that surrounds the listener from the very beginning as an intense and dense fog that remains present throughout the whole album. During this journey to the dark side of the vision, you may also find some groovy percussions and rhythmical patterns which add some light into this otherwise impassable landscapes.

Among the sonic sources used during the composition, you may find all kind of digital and software synthesizers and also some experimental and organic sounds coming from innovative instruments and field recordings such as the Kurzweil K2000 VX, Access Virus Redback, Quasimidi The Raven & Polymorph, Korg Legacy Analog & Digital Edition, Absynth and Sonic Forest.

All music were composed, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by Landru at Atavachron Studios, Barcelona, during 2012. Fractals, layout and cover art were also provided by Landru.

Available at Bandcamp

Fimbria is the latest exploration of Landru into ambient realms, a step forward into complex textures and vibrating grooves from a very personal perspective.

The tracks collected in this album presents a priscine production and a deep development on te creation of textures, loops and unique sounds, intrinsic factors in the music of Landru.

All tracks written, com posed and performed by Landru
Produced and m astered by Landru at Atavachron Studios, Barcelona
Cover artwork design and images by Landru
℗ © 2012 by landru

Available at Bandcamp

Review by Richard Gürtler

Landru is Patxi Hernández, one of driving forces behind Altera Orbe label, and «Fimbria» is his second solo ambient installment, released during September 2012. «Fimbria» comes as CDr edition packaged in elegant digipak.

«Corrosion» unfolds the album and dives straightly into shadowy cavernous realms. Eerie, but richly organic-flavored ambience is melted with diverse distinguishing industrial and cybernetic fragments, some of them more harmonious while some others more discordant, with 12 minutes the longest composition on «Fimbria». «Substantia Nigra» keeps its synergetic path melting darkly spiraling pads, sparse future-tech elements with the sounds of flowing water. «Echoes» remain in subterranean domains, but comprise a quite hymnic drone. «The Passage», as its title suggests, is a shorter transitional number, where frightening zones are merged with otherworldly voice-like sounds and swirling effects, quite unique piece. «Cosmic Strings» bridge deep drones with various sharp dissonances and low primal rumbles. Again remaining rather sparse and weird, but strongly effective.

«Miñaco» attracts with its semi-rhythmed cyberscape, sculpted with razor sharp whip sound effects and distant rumbles and winds. It gets closer to cybernetic-flavored first album «Neurotransmitters». And this future-tech sound can be explored also through «Amalgam», a composition of hazed, but vibrant technoscape crossed with cyber noises. However, «Katabatic Wind» quickly soars to wondrous primordial worlds with graciously floating and pleasantly soothing dreamscapes. A truly immersing composition, which grows on me with every repeated listen. The title composition «Fimbria» unfolds with the interplay of denser, high-tech soundscapes and water sound effects, but later cascades into hypnotically coiling and mid-paced, pulsing grooves. Electrifying cyber-tech escapade!!!

«The Last Quelonid» integrates again various future-tech effects, rumbles and relaxing nature sounds, surrounded by immense sacral washes with ethereal choir-like essence. «Melted Stone» opens with deeply absorbing atmozones enriched sparkling noises, but the journey is soon stolen by spiraling, crystalline electro pulses, which transform this composition into steadily living and breathing trajectory, masterfully backed by mesmerizingly flowing water soundscapes. Absolutely brilliant finale!!! «Fimbria» is another freshly vital, adventurously sculpted and hauntingly distinctive work by this potential Spaniard, who is not afraid of searching his own pathway. And by the time I am completing these lines, a brand new album «Scotoma» has been released on Altera Orbe, so I really look forward to more exciting endeavors from Landru!!!

Richard Gürtler (Jan 20, 2013, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Neurotransmitters is the first ambient album published by Landru. This highly conceptual project is based on the endogenous chemical compounds that are released from a nerve cell which are capable of transmitting neurologic information from one cell to another. Neurotransmitters contains 10 different ambient tracks inspired in ten different neurotransmitters.

Available at Bandcamp

Review by Richard Gürtler

Wow, this is a really nice surprise for me, discovered only few weeks ago through newly launched Altera Orbe website. Landru, based near Barcelona, Spain, is a solo project of Patxi Hernández. He is also one of the creative forces behind Altera Orbe, together with Ran Kirlian. Landru was before focusing more on dance or chillout oriented electronics, but when I entered into «Neurotransmitters» territory through introducing «Serotonin» composition, my eyebrows were raised right away and brand new sonic dimensions were awaiting to be explored.

Yes, «Neurotransmitters» is the first purely ambient-infused album of Landru, released in November, 2011. As mentioned above, this exciting excursion begins with «Serotonin», an icy cold dronescape colored with various, sharply hitting and erupting high-tech percussive sounds. Quite an electrifying performance I must say, introducing Landru’s ambient soundscapes at most scientific!!! Important to mention, this album is a strongly conceptual work based around various neurotransmitters, the chemicals which allow the transmission of signals from one neuron to the next across synapses. Now that’s a challenging theme to express through sonic visions by an artist who freshly ventures into ambient genre!!! «Acetylcholine» keeps on strongly futuristic route, but this time with more rhythmic approach, while the next piece, «Histamine» unites rather experimental, cacophonic sounds with atmospheric soundscapes. Low drone work, invading «Glycine», is soon joined by various razor-sharp effects and mechanized movements and shifts into coldly pulsing industrialized ambience, amazing!!! «Dopamine» immediately strikes with beautifully crystalline melody, crossed with harsher cybernetics, I really enjoy this catchy blend of nicely balanced softer and rawer passages, filling this journey with imagination and curiosity.

«Epinephrine» hits with ice cold spiraling drones, spiced by assorted bleeps and hums, all backed by cavernous sounds. A truly immersing cybernetic dreamscape!!! But «GABA» dives even deeper with sonar-like pings and few eerie high-tech effects, slowly submerging into more massive drone walls before few slightly tribal-spiced grooves are thrown in. Audible ecstasy is guaranteed!!! «Aspartate» evolves into the most upbeat sculpted piece on «Neurotransmitters» with cold, industrialized rhythms. Various noises, rumblings and signals are nicely bridged with deeper atmospheres, evocative melody and ethereal voice-like sounds on «Glutamate». «Melatonin» closes this amazingly adventurous ride with richly sculpted and sharply sounding texture, assembled with hazed factory-like breathings, harsher distortions, catchy metallic implements and warmer, nearly cinematic drifts. «Neurotransmitters» is a very impressive ambient debut by Landru!!! I definitely will keep en eye on this Spaniard, because his co-work with Ran Kirlian entitled «Waterfront» is in the pipeline and his next ambient album «Fimbria» is in the works too. Until then, «Neurotransmitters» album gets my highest recommendation!!!

Richard Gürtler (Apr 14, 2012, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Exobiology is the first published work by Landru which was released in 2007. It represents the consolidation of a musical project developed during more than a decade based on electronic landscapes, ethnic voices and vibrating grooves. Among the 12 included tracks, you may find all kind of electronic compositions, from Big Beat to Dance and Chillout themes.

Available at Bandcamp