Publicado el

Landru’s Boira reviewed

Richard Gürtler has reviewed the newest Landru album, Boira, which had a very nice reception:

BoiraPatxi Hernández aka Landru has crossed my radar for the first time during the spring of 2012, not only as one of the driving forces behind Spanish label Altera Orbe, together with another fellow soundscaping countryman Ran Kirlian, but also as a creator of very impressive debut CDr «Neurotransmitters» (released in November 2011). In the meantime Landru has released several other notable solo albums available on CDr format like «Fimbria», «Scotoma», «Facets» and a collaborative project «Waterfront» with above mentioned labelmate Ran Kirlian. Some of them I have reviewed throughout 2012 and 2013. Although, I believe, Altera Orbe is on hiatus now, both artists still continue on releasing their own music, particularly Landru has a new album «Boira» out since June 2016 on his newly formed label Lepysma, even if the CDr edition was released as a limited edition few months later. «Boira», which means fog in Catalan language, comes in a standard jewel case with immersing black and white 4-page front insert.

Nearly 7-minute long «Dormant State», the shortest one on «Boira», ignites the venture with subterraneanly labyrinthine drone cascades, which are delicately reinforced by assorted, translucently cyber-tech swirls and smashes or ambiguously cavernous pulses and bleeps. Auxiliary warmer cinematic vignettes clandestinely permeate across engulfing hypogeal sceneries. A very strong opening! «The Water Cycle», stretching to 11 minutes, merges richly biotic and mesmerizingly transporting location recordings with constantly circling longing undulations, while intangibly noisier bangs are persistently guarding above. The next piece, «Hydroscopic Particles», only slightly shorter than its predecessor, straightly shifts into sonorously dronescaping Eden, where magnificently multi-dimensional monochromatic monoliths are meticulously coalesced with perpetually helixing primal rumbles and intriguingly traverse through awe-inspiringly panoptic vistas. A towering dronezones at its climax!!! «Evolving Landscape» delves into more future-tech-driven terrains highlighted by polished crystalline bleeps and oddities, and surrounded by balmily expanding and tranquilly nuanced cinematic horizons. Another big one!!! «From A Certain Height» masterfully blends nebulously engrossing choir-infused solitudes with subtly vibrating and intricately high-tech grooves. As much engrossing as electrifying, an aural elixir is served here! «Quiescense» reveals with soaring enigmatic drifts, roaming through perplexing altitudes and backed by remotely elusive throbs and eerily glancing groans and squeaks. The closing 20-plus minutes long title opus «Boira» dives deeply into grandiosely unfathomable depths, navigated by gracefully celestial and spellbindingly humming drone stratums and oracularly illuminated by extraterrestrial signals. And then inconspicuously crescendoing through jaw-droppingly transporting meridians. Massively mysterious finale fully reveals all its magic!!! Bravo, Landru!!!

Landru offers with «Boira» 75 minutes of prodigiously tenebrous atmozones exquisitely augmented by a diversity of cybernetic, futuristic or primordial-charged curiosities, no matter if shimmering, pellucid, granular or puzzling. Undoubtedly «Boira» is another very strong recording by Landru, so don’t hesitate to explore this crafted Spaniard, because he really deserves much more attention than he gets. Landru’s discography features several well hidden gems and your support would be greatly appreciated with many rewards awaiting!!! Patxi, muchas gracias and keep on creating!!!

Richard Gürtler (May 31, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Publicado el

The Physics of Heaven reviewed at Sonic Immersion

Bert Strolenberg wrote a wonderful review of the album The Physics of Heaven by Oöphoi and Ran Kirlian at his website dedicated to Electronic Music Sonic Immersion:

As Oöphoi, aka Italian deep-ambient composer Gianluigi Gasparetti, flies with the angels since a couple of months, Spanish soul-spirit and musician Ran Kirlian decided to release his wonderful collaboration with him, based on unfinished recordings by Oöphoi between 2009-2011 and additional stuff created by Mr Kirlian between 2012-2013.

As the release was meant to materialize before Gianluigi’s passing, and the latter wasn’t able to make that happen anymore, Ran Kirlian started out a sonic quest wherein he tried to stay close to the initial goal of his music. During that process he remixed two large soundworlds in order to a create a solid flow that also worked as a kind of argument for both of them. After Mr Gasparetti’s approval, Ran then started adding his own layers of sounds and polish and sculpt the final result towards an album that merged and expressed both their ideas about life and death.

«The Physics of Heaven» ended up as a continuous space of unleashed serenity and gently flowing non-rhythmic tapestries lasting for over 70-minutes. It’s an overall soothing, peaceful and profoundly ethereal ambient landscape radiating many colours as it explores the transition between life and death through different spiritual traditions and mythologies as the contemplative washes break on an imaginary eternal shore.

If you’re looking for something to caress the mind and soul smoothly, «The Physics of Heaven» will be most satisfying. Recommended!

Via sonicimmersion.org

Publicado el

Landru’s Fimbria review

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 richly 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)

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

Publicado el

Gaze, by Joxan Ruiz, reviewed

The new album of Joxan Ruiz, Gaze, has received a nice review by Richard Gürtler on discogs.org. You can also read it here:

Joxan Ruiz GazeSpanish label Altera Orbe, run by Ran Kirlian and Landru, keeps on growing, with “Gaze” they introduce a brand new name on their roster, Joxan Ruiz from Madrid. “Gaze” is Joxan’s debut work, although he has already appeared in 2011 on Jamendo’s download release by Skaven entitled “Divine Intervention”, where Joxan appears as guest on didgeridoo and singing bowls.

The album launches with “Blue Light”, sublimely drifting and sorrowfully cascading primordial soundscape. “Gaze”, the title track, meanders towards the sky high realms, with gradual expansions into more massive and intense dronewalls, and backed here and there by hazed cybernetic infusions. “Afterglow” moves in its orbit quite monotonously, along with few more dramatic, but vague intrusions. Beautifully tranquil waves of “Ocean Vibration” are masterfully bridged with gentle cyber grooves and soothing coastal recordings. In the second half distant gauzy tribal beats join this deeply mesmerizing sonic experience, magnífico!!! “Zero Point” enters into more meditative terrains with quietly minimal texture. “Virtual Darkness” unfolds straightly with mysterious drones, enriched by distinctive electro pulses. Both, the darker and the cyber-tech substances are perfectly synapsed into a whole new listening sensibility.

Certainly one of the highlights introducing Joxan Ruiz at the top of his artistry!!! The next piece, “Finding The Way”, effectively merges the ancient and the modern in slightly discordant way. “Painting Bubbles”, one of the shortest tracks on “Gaze”, clocking to nearly 3 minutes, is sculpted with minimal warm washes and serenely tinkling sounds evoking upcoming Christmas season. “Hypnos” dives deeply into shadowy subterranean domains, where slow mind-bending drones are spiced by assorted spooky low resonating rumbles and swirls and high-pitched spiraling soars, accomplishing a genuinely trance-inducing atmosphere. Cavernous rumbles lead “Sirenis”, the longest composition getting over 10 and half minutes, which flows on minimal, meditative waves coupled also with various crystalline tinkles. Another deeply primordial focused soundscape. “Alpha” immediately returns into monotonous and monstrous drone scenario, again blended with assorted distant noises and sharper cyber-electro-organics. The drones graciously glide throughout and expand into hugely immense panoramas, ranging from more intense and cinematic to more sublime and relieving. Another standout piece, a pure, 10-minute sonic bliss!!! 2 minute long outro “Gone From Here” is sculpted with expressive solo piano.

A fairly colorful and distinctive debut by this Spaniard and a perfect addition to Altera Orbe’s portfolio. Fellow countrymen Ran Kirlian and Max Corbacho are responsible for the mixing and mastering duties. If you like a wealthy mixture of mysterious dronescaping and few hypnotic cyber-tech escapades, you will enjoy “Gaze”!!! Joxan Ruiz has a quite big collection of flutes and as a member The International Native American and World Flute Association, I am sure he has a lot to offer within the fusion of ancient flutes and electronic sound design.

Richard Gürtler (Dec 09, 2012, Bratislava, Slovakia)