(Hungover in) Siberia is Pie Are Squared’s third release and the first part of an ongoing trilogy; a venturesomely bold series of interrelated recordings. (Hungover in) Siberia plays as one long-form composition that is constructed with deliberate melodrama to pay homage to a plethora of human emotions, partly inspired by the seemingly infinite Siberian landscapes. Autobiographical in nature, the music expresses the protagonist’s loneliness and longing to rejuvenate his soul and assuage his mind, and his journey through his own personal looking-glass into a hallucinatory world.

(Hungover in) Siberia starts with a cinematic mantra of pulverizing, scorched sounds that drift into a more re-contextualized domain of hazy electronic distortion and austere screeches. Pure morning rises, eyelids descend, lost in landscapes devoid of reason, a non-stopping seizure that evokes a feeling of a man torn apart of his belief, estranged from his muse, getting emptier by the second, every cell disintegrates, shedding skin that swirls in a whirlpool around the body, wasting flesh annuls, only the soul remains, swept away by the merciless winds of inevitable change.

Nothingness reigns in this endless soundscape, and this ensues until an ethereal piano line, accompanied by comforting acoustic sounds and beautiful heartbreaking vocals enter to swiftly carry on with the story line. The protagonist can be seen grieving, in a state of blissful melancholy; cries of hurt can be heard radiating from his soul, sedative like an ever haunting lullaby, venting out leftover innate feelings that were once substantial for his survival yet somehow where lost through the dissonance of human psyche.

A pendulum of reason and the lack of it swing throughout seven layers of discombobulation, a convoluted dreamy track which eschews traditional structures. Where ever rotating remnants from the disintegration of sound are reconstructed into fragments of blissful specters. Waking up to a new morning…or dreaming one, a phase is upon the protagonist where a bipolar state manifests itself in his mind, escapism through pseudo-happiness, fleeting moments of jazzy joy can be heard. Stripped down of feelings, I’ll see you when I see you, and I hope this will be, won’t be soon presents a hypnotic, elusive closure, evocative walls of sound, exceptional drumming, accompanied by spiky wafts of violins, harps and cellos. The marching band accompanies the soul in a parade to commemorate the muse, to a farewell of sorts, a vortex of emotion arises, inspires the imagery of a very serene funeral pyre march, into vast landscapes where the protagonist finally lays the muse to rest in the river of forgetting, lifting the veil of desolation off his soul, coming to terms with his turmoil. Hope arises.

Pie Are Squared masterful playing is revealed as an instinctual process where emotions are woven together like a meticulously intertwined tapestry, rendering an out-earthly ride through unfamiliar territories where sounds exist in their singularity. (Hungover in)Siberia is 30 minutes of otherworldly splashing, ripping, hissing, hum, an indefinite number of sounds carefully coaxed from unique instruments, drawing a blurry line between veracity and reverie. The result grabs at the listener to stay alert while getting lost completely to emerge cleansed at the end of this musical ride, tiptoeing around quiescent moments, increasingly mounting tension and inspiring awe.

Pie Are Squared is further proof that – wherever you are in the world – there is an underground scene brimming with talent. You just have to find it.

• archive.org – bandcamp – clearbits
• artist page

wecollectskies’ new 4 track EP has an ambitious approach to how the entire albums sound was architected. It has been in the works for four months as Josh Elliot’s final project on university and aims to suit the modern days listening habits.

And it shows, the mixture of metal ‘cohones’, shoegazing bliss… it exhales an energy that grabs you from the first notes and will continue to surprise by breaking barriers and blending genres within the realm of post-rock and post-metal. And it all sounds spectacular.

Track listing

1. Remote Controlled Skies
2. Apocalisse Morti
3. Withered Hands
4. Last Word of Home

• archive.org – bandcamp
• essay

The Lost Children Net Label proudly presents it’s second release by Charts and Maps, even more intrinsically unclassifiable yet still grooving around in their unique texture of fusion and post-psychedelic.

Charts and Maps have always been a difficult band to figure out. I was at both their first and last shows – I saw them develop from a loud, jumbled mess of good ideas wrenched together at angles to one of the most aggressively forward-thinking end electrifying live bands on the Los Angeles underground circuit. Dead Horse, much more than any previous recording, captures the sheer bombast of their live performances. It was recorded at the band’s pinnacle, on the eve of their final performance at the tail end of 2009. Clashing personalities and gargantuan creative workloads pulled them in different directions. This is where the Heard of Elephants family tree comes in — It gets a bit complicated. Khawaja (bass), Melancon (drums), and Allison (sax/vocals) currently play in Woolen. Melancon, Allison and Watford (guitar) are part of Random Patterns, and John Taylor (guitar) is one half of Semiconscious Gloria.

Their music is the convergence of a number of diverse tendencies. They’re one part ballsy big band jazz, another shimmery post-rock act with walls of melodic sound, a mathy-but-not-calculator-mathy garage-prog outfit, or an ill-tempered funk band with bad intentions — all underpinned by an almost reckless sense of imagination, deep, grooving beats and eloquent, nimble lead melodies.

The album opens with the cheekily titled ‘Take Me Back To Highland Park (Or I Will Die a Gruesome Death),’ inspired after a night out in Hollywood. It is loud and stompy, sax heavy and skipping almost entirely through odd-time signatures while managing to be all up in your face without jamming on the distortion pedal. The epic, sweaty 11-minute opus ‘In the Town of Machine,’ follows, weaving an ominous melodic narrative inspired by the film Dead Man through a number of dystopian sonic landscapes, most culminating in absolutely searing lead lines by guitarist John Taylor. I’m loathe to use the word ‘incendiary’ to describe guitar playing, but, I mean it; I honestly believe that the man can start fires with his fingers alone.

The album closes with the band’s final song, the title track ‘Dead Horse.’ I would argue that it is their finest work, one of the few to include prominent vocals (though you won’t find a lyric sheet attached anywhere) and is vast in concept but concise in execution. Waves of sound lull you into a sense of comfort before dropping you off, leaving your floating in a futurist pool. Abruptly a mean funk commences. It’s all syncopated and raw and signature Charts and Maps before the intensity drops to a pause. Then it builds slowly into what band members have described as ‘a descent into hell.’ And you can see why. It is as if they knew this was their final communication with the world and they wanted to get it all out. At the crashing end, every member is playing at 10 before the beast collapses, winded and spent.

Whether this is your cup of tea or not, Charts and Maps and this album in particular is an experiment going defiantly against the grain in Los Angeles with equal dashings of aggression and aplomb.

Jasper Crane, P.H.D.

archive.org – bandcamp

The theme running through all tracks of this work is ‘water’ (and its numerous concerns risen around the globe).
The album is comprised of tracks by 15 Italian artists (Enrico Coniglio, Francesco Giannico, Gigi Masin, Obsil, Elisa Luu, Attilio Novellino (Un Vortice Di Bassa Pressione) and Pierpaolo Leo among others) working with electroacoustics, microsounds, emotional drive and drowned sounds, all in a free-experimentation zone.
Each artist was prompted to submit a track inspired somehow by the notion of water, according to their individual angle. The upshot is a multilayered work, giving voice to the umpteen facets of a theme which has always created a particularly deep and serious attraction for musicians working in the drone/ambient scene.
The sonorities of field recording, glitched digressions, electroacoustic idylls, dreamy soundscapes, abysmal notes, dilated, diluted, purified, desecrated water…
Together these artists have releases across labels such as Touch, Porter, Laverna, Sub Rosa, Ripples, Cronica, Zymogen and more.
The project is released on Ephre Imprint as a strictly limited edition CDR, plus in conjunction with the Lost Children Net Label as a download.

Tracklisting:

01. Paolo Veneziani – Inside the edge
02. Cop killin’ beat – Tanaro
03. LLS04 – 80% water
04. Ennio Mazzon – Plain
05. Enrico Coniglio – The carb’s secret
06. Un Vortice di Bassa Pressione – Hydrocoma pt.3
07. Christian Di Vito – Arborfelix
08. Leastupperbound – The humpback whale
09. Alessio Ballerini – Half water
10. Francesco Giannico – Another time in this earth
11. Obsil – Two years ago
12. Ornitology – Restless
13. Elisa Luu – Piano
14. Gigi Masin – A fog book
15. Pierpaolo Leo – Bioluminescence

• archive.org – Bandcamp.com – clearbits torrent – mininova torrent
• buy the physical release from Ephre Imprint
• album discussion

• ephreimprint.tumblr.com
• ephreimprint.eu

Lost Children Net Label proudly presents Ben Woods‘ We Are Silhouettes Now. A wholesome offering of layered sky-gazing soundscapes, piano driven introspection and subliminal bliss.

It is an addictive seven track EP that will entice its listeners with its elegant structures and variations, reminiscent of those found in the cinematic compositions of Angelo Badalamenti. The music subtly finds its way under the listeners skin, stopping time, bringing a moment of peace draped in shades of melancholic yet uplifting blue as reflected so dexterously in the artwork by Ludo Vanroy. In a way it can be seen as the extension and pinnacle of These Passing Thoughts, a collection of ‘endless hours of wasted moments’, which will offer the additional fix the listener will crave for after listening to We Are Silhouettes Now.

Tracklisting

1. This Departure (3:44)
2. Together Standing (5:50)
3. Your Footprints, My Shadow (5:43)
4. Those We’ll Never Know (4:15)
5. Parting Words (2:02)
6. Above & Beyond (3:20)
7. We Are Silhouettes Now (2:50)

All music written and recorded by Ben Woods
Artwork by Ludo Vanroy monoprints.blogspot.com

• archive.org – clearbits torrent – mininova torrent
• album discussion – artist info – artist discussion

Presents

con fuoco d’occhi un nostalgico lupo

A special compilation in two parts, dedicated to contemporary Italian experimental music.

Special thanks to Matteo Uggeri, Francesco Galano, Giulio Aldinucci, Alessandro Bider, Dane Sannicandro, Alessandro Giardino, Enrico Coniglio, and everyone else who has contributed to this project.

I’d also like to offer special thanks to all the labels who have contributed to this project, and those that have supported Italian artists more generally, especially Afe, Boring Machines, Die Schactel, and Grey Sparkle.

• Curated and produced by Joseph Sannicandro
• joe@thesilentballet.com

• Compilation Mastered by Dane Sannicandro
• danesannicandro@gmail.com

• Design layout and art by Alessandro Bider
• alessandro.bider@gmail.com

• Inside photos by Adriano Zanni
• az64.org

The title comes from the poem “Con Fuoco” by the Italian poet Giuseppe Ungaretti

Tracklisting

1. Airportman- Off7
2. Emanuele Errante- Caracciolo
3. Le Gros Ballon- Ecco cosa resta dei sogni
4. Obsil- Chioma
5. Passo Uno- Hopeless?
6. Francesco Giannico / Luca Mauri / Matteo Uggeri – Pagetos – Excerpt One
7. Harshcore- Moharrem
8. Neil on Impression- Parata Per Quattro Addii
9. Andrea Marutti- Sphagnum
10. Pillow- Aurorae
11. Mamuthones- untitled

• download: archive.org – bandcamp – torrent
• download: Con Fuoco d’Occhi un Nostalgico Lupo – Volume 1 notes

Tracklisting

1. port-royal & Linda Bjalla- “Hans Kelsen”
2. Fabio Orsi- Cloudy Tobacco
3. Giuseppe Ielasi- Paper Lamp
4. Tiziano Milani- Tocco Libero (Sequenza Prima)
5. K11- Thelemic Sign II
6. French Teen Idol- Lamb 2010
7. MB+ICS- La Eternulo Prenis
8. When The Clouds- Flooding River
9. FARAVELLIRATTI- sawdust
10. Il Rumore del Fiore di Carta- Part-time Superhero

• download: archive.org – bandcamp – torrent
• download: Con Fuoco d’Occhi un Nostalgico Lupo – Volume 2 notes

• con fuoco d’occhi un nostalgico lupo (essay)
• album/essay discussion
• extended track and artist information

• The Silent Ballet compilation series

Volume 16 marks the completion of the fourth year of The Silent Ballet Compilation Series. Throughout the series we have discovered a lot of noteworthy acts, rekindled the flame with old favorites, and watched the development of multiple musical scenes right before our eyes. We’re just as optimistic and excited about the future as we were four years ago, and every new release makes us as giddy as ever.

This edition is a first for the series; Volume 16 is the first compilation to contain a video track. Our gratitude goes out to The Sleepy Vines, who made this possible and has perhaps opened a door that will be investigated in the future.

A big thanks goes out to all the artists and labels who made this project possible. Relevant links can be found below; any support is greatly appreciated.

Jordan Volz
The Silent Ballet

Barry Rogers
Lost Children Net Label

Tracklisting :

1. The Porcelain Sea – Apart
2. Ous Mal – Marraskuu
3. Aquarelle – At the Seams (Version)
4. Jannick Schou – Part II (Session 1)
5. The Sleepy Vines - Kelp Forest
6. Acorn Falling – Shattering Surface
7. Bas Van Huizen – Kluwekracht IV
8. Ambassador Etc. – Life Flashes
9. Haruka Nakamura – Evening Prayer
10. Pimmon – Get Up and Tell You Where to Go
11. Clem Leek – Walter
12. The Best Pessimist – The Sea, The Night, The Stars,
The Light

• archive.org – torrent
• album discussion
• The Silent Ballet Compilation series

Pet Slimmers of the Year return with their second EP ‘…And The Sky Fell’, a monstrous follow-up to their Lost Children debut.

Retaining the heavy riffs and dynamics of the first EP, Pet Slimmer of the Year have supplemented their brand of Post-Metal with melodic breaks, dense atmospherics, and even haunting vocals on the immense closing track. A crushing and brutal collection of class songs.

Tracklisting :
1. Moravka
2. The Faith Of Our Hate (Heaven’s Gate Part One)
3. Weir
4. …And The Sky Fell
5. I Am The Ocean

• archive.org – torrent
• album discussion
• artist info – artist discussion

As is becoming tradition around these parts, Volume 14 and 15 will be released in close proximity to one another. Each compilation continues the website’s commitment to spotlighting emerging musicians, featuring upcoming releases, and providing rare tracks from our favorite artists to our readers. Our focus is always on the international level, and we’ll never tire of searching for the next best thing in the most unusual of places. Our goal of a seven continent split is almost within our grasp, we’re just awaiting news of the first penguin-led post-rock group.

We’re also committed to our goal of providing quality music in a respectable format without charge. As one of life’s greatest pleasures, music should be freely available to all and resistant to commodification. As the Lost Children Netlabel looks ready to close in on its one hundredth release in 2010, we at The Silent Ballet are thankful that the label has stuck to its
goals and continues to provide excellent music free of charge. Although it may seem like the music industry gets ragged on a lot, if there were more labels like Lost Children around, we think that the music climate would be a much more agreeable place for musicians.

A big thanks goes out to all the artists and labels who made this project possible. Relevant links can be found below; any support is greatly appreciated.

Jordan Volz
The Silent Ballet

Barry Rogers
Lost Children Net Label

Tracklisting :

1. Across Tundras – Rainmaker – Floodreaper
2. Kodiak – By the Sea
3. Year of No Light – Hierophante
4. Aidan Baker – Turn Tail
5. Rosetta – Rain Falling on a Factory Roof (Redux)
6. Svartbag – Construct/Morse
7. Vanessa Van Basten – L’uomo Che Comprava il Tempo
8. No One Wished to Settle Hereafter – Scarce Christmas
9. SardoniS – It Walks the Mountain
10. Heirs – Mandril
11. Equus – VIII
12. Hellas Mounds – Movement II

• archive.org – torrent
• album discussion
• The Silent Ballet Compilation series

Further Than You Think is the second album from James Morris under his Final Light guise, following two years on from his Lost Children debut album, To Stop an Exploding Man…, displaying increased maturity and depth in both song writing and production.

Beautiful piano lines interspersed amongst glitched beats, layered with delicate guitar lines, subtle samples and electronic, synth-like sounds to produce an often haunting, always harmonious and graceful soundscape. A great achievement and huge progression in such short time.

Tracklisting :
1. The Journey
2. Floating on a Cloud
3. Somewhere in an Alternate Universe
4. …You Still Don’t Understand
5. I Know Now Why You Cry
6. Return Journey

• archive.org – torrent
• album discussion
• artist info – artist discussion