The For Carnations ::: Promised Works

Originally released by Matador as "Marshmallows" and "Fight Songs", these long out of print recordings are repackaged and renamed. Conceived in the early 90s, The For Carnation was the vanity project of Brian McMahan (Slint vocalist) and it conducted a number of earnest experiments with ultra-music, as the recordings contain here demonstrate. The results are curious and quietly compelling. Over the course of three releases, McMahan garnered contributions from David Pajo (Slint), Doug McCombs and John Herndon (Tortoise), Tim Ruth (Evergreen), and brother Michael McMahan (Dead Child), among others.

Tracklist:
1- Grace Beneath The Pines
2- How I Beat The Devil
3- Get And Stay Get March
4- On The Swing
5- I wear the Gold
6-  Lmyr, Marshmallow
7- Winter Lair
8- Salo
9- Preparing To Receive You

Download:
http://www.adrive.com/public/XCejZC/Promised%20Works.zip
 
 

Low ::: I Could Live in Hope

Legendary American slowcore act Low formed in Minnesota in 1993. Their debut, 'I could live in hope' marks the beginning of a wonderful journey of one of the greatest american bands in recent times.  Good with: wines, pills, depression, suicide, oncoming winter weather, lying down and staring at the ceiling. Understated, gentle and devastating beauty.

Tracklist:
1- Words
2-  Fear
3- Cut
4- Slide
5- Lazy
6- Lullaby
7- Sea
8- Down
9- Drag
10- Rope
11- Sunshine

Preview:
 

Download:
https://mega.nz/#!JR4DXIJY!zTfQw-S74DoPM6UUR1Qdfq-m32mT7Mvumg9z2CW6rn4

Biosphere ::: Cirque

'Cirque' was originally released by Touch seven years ago in 2000, and they have finally seen fit to re-issue the record so those of us who missed it first time around can hear what all the fuss was about. Interestingly too, it hasn't dated much at all - of course there are things where you have to think about the context of the time, but Jenssen's expert blend of minimal dub-leaning techno and gorgeous ambience is masterful and hugely enjoyable. This is where he really began to experiment beat structures and the framework of 'dance' music, yet he submerged the rhythmic elements so far beneath his expertly crafted drones and field recordings that it's difficult to place this in the same genre as more dancefloor oriented work. Take the Basic Channel influenced 'When I Leave'; vinyl crackle and dissonant pads float around gloriously before being punctured by a pulsating bassline and then a simple, minimal 4/4 thud to bring the track together perfectly. Elsewhere 'Iberia Eterea' takes a jazzy hi-hat rhythm and pushes it through a haze of lo-fidelity noise and buzzing synthesizer drones giving it the quality of an ancient movie seen through the eyes of David Lynch. It's easy to see on this album where acts such as Deaf Center managed to mine so much inspiration - Geir Jenssen's work has served to influence so much modern electronic music that it is almost crucial to re-visit everything the man has to offer. A gorgeous record.

Tracklist:

01. Nook & Cranny 4:03 

02. Le Grand Dome 5:36 

03. Grandiflora 0:48 

04. Black Lamb & Grey Falcon 5:08 

05. Miniature Rock Dwellers 1:04 

06. When I leave 5:55 

07. Iberia Eterea 6:38 

08. Moistened & Dried 2:25 

09. Algae & Fungi Part I 5:43 

10. Algae & Fungi Part II 5:18 

11. Too Fragile to Walk On 4:52

Download:
http://www.adrive.com/public/SxMmtf/B-00-C.zip

Biosphere ::: Substrata

Substrata by Biosphere is one of the all-time classic ambient albums, if not THE all-time classic album. Chilling atmospheric tones with ambient samples of ice, snow, forests, Twin Peaks-samples and Russian radio broadcasts… Substrata is difficult to describe in words alone. This is one album that every ambient fan needs to hear, if not own. For my own part the album is never far from my stereo. From the initial drone of an aircraft high overhead to the rambling monologues of later tracks every minute sends a chill down your spine. 

Biosphere’s work is often described as “dark ambient” but to me this sounds too negative as every piece of music Geir Jenssen composed expresses so much different feelings and his albums are not simply a couple of “drones” thrown together. Neither is Substrata.   Substrata is inhabited by the vast spaces spreading across the artic region, endless nights and midnight sun, sub-zero temperatures and northern lights.

Substrata isn't a formless piece of sound; each section, or chapter, has a definite core structure that the listener can dwell on for the duration. Tracks like Kobresia, Times When I Know You'll Be Sad, and Chukhung have a clearly defined structure that relies on a single melody to progress its way through the track. It is a careful contemplation on the power of repetition of a single idea. The second a motif or idea is finished you find yourself wanting to hear that sound again, and again, and again. That subtlety is really the true power that lies beneath Substrata. Nothing about it grabs your attention violently but rather seeps into your mind over time, slowly growing and growing until you can no longer ignore it. Again, like forgotten and ignored environment, you being to learn each and every curve of the sounds and the shapes. It is the hidden beauty that makes affection all the more exciting, and always keeps you coming back for more.

Tracklist:

01. As the Sun Kissed the Horizon 1:47 

02. Poa Alpina 4:11 

03. Chukhung 7:35 

04. The Things I Tell You 6:28 

05. Times When I Know You'll Be Sad 3:44 

06. Hyperborea 5:46 

07. Kobresia 7:13 

08. Antennaria 5:05 

09. Uva-Ursi 3:00 

10. Sphere of No-Form 5:48 

11. Silene 7:54

Preview:


Download:
http://www.adrive.com/public/EDG8DB/B-97-S.zip