Seefeel are an extraordinary, epoch-defining band, a group which one often finds name-checked in the write-ups of other essential music. Their debut album is a groundbreaking masterwork that exists far outside of time.
minimal
Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air
I’ve previously referred to this compositional wizard. Finally, an elucidation: Terry Riley is one of the founding fathers of modern minimalism and, more subtly, inspiration to myriad genres and generations of popular music since his first groundbreaking compositions. I’m here to share my love for A Rainbow In Curved Air
So I’m sharing this landmark recording. The title cut is an unequivocal masterpiece. Anyone speaking otherwise is obviously ‘out of their element’ and should, by all means, give it a listen. There isn’t much to write in the way of a description, other than noting that this recording is analogous to a profound dream: deeply affecting, nuanced, beautiful, yet devoid of concrete meaning. The feelings evoked are an end unto themselves. These sounds are subconscious and natural. This composition is eternal.
Just listen.
[purchase at amazon and rejoice. thank me later]
Shogun Kunitoki – Vinonaamakasio
With a name like Shogun Kunitoki, you’d be forgiven for assuming the band is Japanese in origin. Fittingly, they’re scandinavian. These Finnish fellows create a sound which I first described as “Steve Reich using Black Moth Super Rainbow‘s instruments, scoring a Miyazaki film” upon hearing the debut, Tasankokaiku. And truthfully, my silly description still stands tall if you’re familiar with the references. If not, then read on.
This band takes elements of the strain of minimalism exemplefied by Terry Riley and later, Steve Reich – but the influence is exactly that: an element of the sound. The album is full of defiantly fleshed-out songs with structure and mood shifts, beginnings and endings. The instrumentation is refreshingly lived-in, with warm analog synths and the unprogrammed appeal of live percussion. The atmosphere is pure 60’s sci-fi and lounge wrung through a modern sensibility which betrays the artists’ hindsight and ingenuity; in other words, this music doesn’t simply coast on the preconditioned atmosphere moog tones and synth squeals conjure – it’s pulsing with the (seeming) foreknowledge of punk zeal, bulging fuzzy psychedelic rock acoustics, and a post-rock ache for reinvention of the comfortable and pedestrian.
If you are familiar with the debut album, then you know what to expect when I say it’s more of the same and beyond. In other words, there are no game-changing shifts in approach; this is an update and expansion on the unique slice of sound Shogun Kunitoki have previously carved out for themselves.
And if you’re truly lacking in inspiration, do yourself and the world a favor: go watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Optimistic Underground 