Lost in Reverb - (H)ours (2023)

Nicolás Madrid from the Argentinian city of Marcos Paz is a drone artist whose music creates some beautiful, although harsh soundscapes. Ones that I'd imagine would fit perfectly the southern end of the artist's home country. His new EP is called (H)ours.

The music here is a nice combination of space, dark ambient with uncomfortable presence of drone music. Some of the cosmic peace, represented by the cover art's picture of the Moon, is also audible here. Especially in the hopefully titled second track on the album. And the more beautiful face of this music is shown when the piano keys are introduced in The Hours in Mare Imbrium, my favourite track here.

(H)ours costs 3 USD.

Check: The Hours in Mare Imbrium

Country: Argentina

Genre: droney space ambient

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Clouds Are Learning - Where Dreams Fade Away (2022)

Leandro Liguori, who makes music as Clouds Are Learning, comes back to the blog with another ultra moody, though not very long, album called Where Dreams Fade Away. His project provides us with striking, beautiful and very calm music experience.

The soundscapes here are subtly noisy and drony in the backgrounds while filled with beautiful, rain-like piano keys in the centre of attention. The melancholia enchanted within this music is so overwhelming that the audience must try as hard as they can not to succumb to it. Because when they do, there's little chance for save. Especially when those particularly tear-jerking moments hit, like the hidden voice samples in The Descent. But the peak of the mood is reached in less "flashy" way, namely, in the slow finish of the title track that really feels like the death of a dream and I love the sadness it comes with.

Where Dreams Fade Away costs 4 USD.

Clouds Are Learning - Slow Cities and Fake Lights (2019)

Check: The Descent

Country: Argentina

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

WatchCamp May-June'21 with Domus & Dag Rosenqvist, elhombreanormal, LOCKSTEP, Luthia, PARDALS

Domus & Dag Rosenqvist - Transit​/​Sunrise

A collaboration between Domus - Henrik Sunbring-Thobias Eidevald duo, Dag Rosenqvist, a member of the Swedish post-rocking Ef, with the help of Daniel Johansson and his trumpet, resulted in two big tracks of instrumental ambient that smoothly transforms into mesmerizing post-rock. The two tracks cost 20 SEK (2 EUR).

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

elhombreanormal - renacentismo

Noisy music from Argentina. The band make a blend of very guitar-based and coarse post-rock with psychedelic rock's vocals and compositions and they show their best at the short EP three years after releasing their debut (?) album. Two tracks cost 7 USD (!).

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

LOCKSTEP - Lockstep 1

What an awesome debut. The Tennessee-based band released a short EP filled with high-quality psychedelic rock meeting noise rock meeting shoegaze with slowcore-like-paced vocals and super dense, mesmerizing guitars. This is the first of a series of self-produced short albums and I can't wait to hear more. Two songs cost whatever you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Luthia - Sleepwalker

The Scottish band involved in "exploring the terrain of song, structure, sound and harmony" but not, as one could assume, making ambient music. Instead, they create a unique slowcore/post-folk blend, very artsy and moody music with Irrepressibles-like beautiful vocals and extremely atmospheric spoken word elements.  Two tracks cost 2 GBP.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

PARDALS - III

Ibiza-based band who create a mainstream yet involving post-rock music. Their tracks are very much guitar-oriented and making the most of the genre's most recognizable themes. They are creating their debut EP and 'm looking forward to hearing them again. Two tracks cost 7 EUR (!).

:bandcamp:

Nieeve - Lo fundamental permanece (2020) EN

Nieeve is a band from Argentina who is among my favourite ones since the release of their previous EP called Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos  last year. Now they showed some more material on the next short album Lo fundamental permanece.

The quartet is characterized by the extremely attractive combination of ethereal atmosphere and post-rock music. And we've got the same thing on the new album. No wonder it's signed by the picture of clouds seen from above - the music here is airy as the clouds as well as expressive and flying far above the ground at the same time. Loud guitars (sometimes very, very loud like in the great, massive parts of Naufragamos) and airy vocals taken almost directly from ultra-delicate dream pop. I love it.

They sound wonderful in the crystal-keys-driven Dibujando el vacio, very dream pop A pesar de la Tormenta or tear-jerking finish in Mar abierto. And all of this despite the fact that there are clearly audible issues from recording/producing. Well, in this case, it's not the most important thing.

Lo fundamental permanece costs 5 USD.

Nieeve - Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos (2019) EN

Check: Naufragamos

Country: Argentina

Genre: dreamy post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

WatchCamp April-May (2020) with Leo Enmarañado, Feral Atom, Nabius, Polvö, Suffer Fools EN

Leo Enmarañado - Down Here

The artist hailing from Argentina who makes melodic and really catchy synthwave with warm vocals and apologetic lyrics. Nice done, finished in an interesting way. The single costs whatever you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:youtube:

Feral Atom - Love

Ola Beręsewicz from Białystok, Poland and her project: thick, dark rock or folk, there's no denying, this can be Polish version of Chelsea Wolfe. I'm very curious about the artist's career. The single costs around 1 EUR (3 PLN).

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Nabius - 2020

Debut material from the Catalonia-based band. Solid, guitar post-rock. There's potential in it. Two tracks cost whatever you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:youtube:

Polvö - Estocolmo

Brasilian band with Scandinavian name. And they make psychedelic post-rock, really diverse one - there's samples and noisy guitars and an impressive finish. There's noise and an idea what to do with the noise. The single costs whatever you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Suffer Fools - i'maclicheblues // when i was a monster

Another one in the last months single by the artist known also as Debbie Debased from Canada. Really interesting project - very pop-esque melodies but also a lot of shoegaze's noise. There's something about it, the debut LP is scheduled for this year. Two tracks cost 1,5 CAD.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

A CASA - Un pozo en el sol (2020) EN

A CASA is a solo project from José de Diego from Mendoza, Argentina, who on his new album called Un pozo en el sol showed some really interesting and complex electro dream pop.

There's so much going on on this album. The majority of the sounds is made of lively electro-pop vibes decorated with more or less dream pop vocals, but there are also such genre-deviations as almost metal voices in He Mirado Atrás, very impressive electronic closure of Hoy no, or featuring Agustina Bécares whose vocals make the album even more diverse. Not to mention the monumentally electronic finish in the two-part track Coty3.

But the most important is how easy it is for the artist to combine catchiness and atmosphere-building, especially when it comes to my favourite track, one of the entirely new compositions (some other are reimaginations of older songs), Contaba - who would guess that a song with a chorus about counting to six in Spanish could be what I needed to be happy?

Un pozo en el sol costs 7 USD.

Check: Contaba

Country: Argentina

Genre: electro dream pop

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Clouds Are Learning - Slow Cities and Fake Lights (2019) EN

Clouds Are Learning is a project by an Argentinian artist Leandro Liguori who single-handedly generates some really intimate and climatic ambient. He recently showed a piece of it on an EP called Slow Cities and Fake Lights. 

Liguori's neoclassicism-infused ambient offers atmosphere that can't be taken lightly. Especially when, going hand-to-hand with the cover art, it is complimented with rainy weather samples (in ironically titled Healed by the Sun) or by effects imitating rain or fire cracking in Empty Places. The most important thing though are the instrumental melodies, those made on the crying piano and those on tear-jerking strings. The whole things creates the delicate, sad and intimate atmosphere of a warm room during a rainy day.

Slow Cities and Fake Lights costs 4 USD.

Check: Hurt by the Night

Country: Argentina

Genre: rainy neoclassical ambient

:bandcamp:

:spotify:

WatchCamp May-June'19 eva ȧjbrin, Plasma Rüby, PROCESSIONS, trauma ray, Walk Among Statues EN

Not to beat around the bush, the artist is my friend and I also have a tiny contribution to this single. But still I can recommend this single without slightest doubts as Eva is fantastically talented and can write particularly poignant tracks on piano and her touching voice. The single costs 1 GBP. 

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:soundcloud:

:youtube:

A track created as a part of a compilation called Pluration I. The Argentina-based artist made this electronic song with unique textures and brilliantly melancholic mood. The track costs 1 USD. 

:bandcamp:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

San Antonio-based band showed this upbeat and lively shoegaze song and I can't hep but wonder what they could do with a long play. That makes it especially painful because literally yesterday they announced... the end of the band. The single costs 1 USD.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:spotify:

Two perfectly shoegaze songs. The Texans show the world how to make dense and atmospheric music in this genre as few can. Both tracks cost together 2 USD.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:spotify:

There's gonna be some of new Polish post-rock on the blog soon staring with this great track. With this single, the Wrocław-based band prove that they have talent and are in good form. Can't wait for the LP. The track costs 2 EUR (8 PLN).

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

Nieeve - Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos (2019) EN

Nieeve come from the Argentinian town of Villa Pehuenia and it's a place worth googling, located in the Andes on the border with Chile. The Mountains seem to suggest that the band's name refers to snow (Spanish "nieve"), but the musicians' debut album suggests that in fact it's an abbreviation.

The album's title can be roughly translated into "our winters meet an elevating wind" and isn't it a super poetic phrase? Perfectly fitting the Argentinian's spiritual music. This combination of touching post-rock with delicate shoegaze influences won my heart from the very first track, the single one Joa. In this song, the huge role is played by airy backing vocals haunting the poignant and atmospheric guitar music. Similarly in the next Ruido blanco - this mixture is both loud and catchy and in a way sacral with its monumentality and the angel-like choirs.

In Brisa we finally get the orthodox dream pop vocal in the best and airest version, in the final track Renacer - crushing guitar sounds. This short album has everything to please the fans of exalted and melancholic music.

Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Ruido blanco

Country: Argentina

Genre: ethereal post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

When i miss the rain - Daydreaming (2018) EN

When i miss the rain is yet another one-man metal project from South America that appears on Łabandzi Śpiew. This one is the creation of Pablo Cubilla known as a member of such bands as Rebhellion or Hatred Source. This time he sets on his journey alone and, undoubtedly, he did well.

"Daydreaming", as the title suggests, includes metal that is very close to the oneiric atmosphere of shoegaze or dream pop. Just like those genres, it focuses on the ambiance generated with reverbs and echoes, however Cubilla's musical background adds some of the powerful metal noise to the music. Just like his counterparts did, he proves that it takes one talented person to create a lot of beautiful noise.

"Daydreaming" costs 7 USD.

:bandcamp:

A Magnificent Cold - Nocturne (2018) EN

Sebastian Crugley best known as the driving force of the project called Alldrig has just released an album signed with his more nostalgic alias, A Magnificent Cold. "Nocturne" is filled with, obviously, night time music, neoclassical sounds with darker vibe.

The Argentinian created melancholy written with notes and poured it over the whole album.  The combination of piano keys and heavy sounding strings always sounds awesome, but Crugley added some of his magic that is audible on "Nocturne". Prepare tissues, turn off the lights and let this music/magic guide you.

"Nocturne" is available for whatever you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Sebastian Crugley):

Bruno Sanfilippo - Unity (2018) EN

Bruno Sanfilippo as Argentinian musician with professional education and great imagination as t" In dreams, there’s no imagined thing that’s too absurd, too strange". With the Russian Dronarivm published new album, he verifies those traits and shows that there's no exaggeration when comparing him with the likes of  Max Richter, Arvo Pärt, or truly missed Jóhann Jóhannsson.

From the beginning of the album, the artist introduces this sacral atmosphere thanks to the backing vocals as airy as souls of the dead. They accompany his minimalist ambient reaching sometimes the ugliness of drone and neoclassical compositions played on piano and violins. The show is stolen by track number three - "Lux" in which the looped piano key sequence and beautiful string melodies are only prelude to the finish ruled by angelic airy choirs.

"Unity" costs 6 EUR.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:official:

:spotify:

MVGRE - Punks De La Ola Oscura EP (2018) EN

The title of the EP means exactly "The punks of the darkwave" And it's basically enough to describe the music created by the Argentinian artist known as MVGRE.

All of the three not very long songs are drowned in the same atmosphere of nihilism and fascination of several decade old electronic music. Plus the dispersed vocal that brings this darkgazing flavour. Synth compositions tell the stories of fear of the future ("Paranoia is my shield I can't get rid of, let's leave the future in front of us" in "Dejemos El Futuro Atrás") and personality crisis ("How can I heal? How can I believe?" in "Porcelana Marcial"). 

The whole album has a lot of this non-professional coldwave's charm which makes this music honest and more reliable than other genres. And since it is an invocation about pain of existence, we should feel for the artist and treasure the emotions he put in his music.

"Punks De La Ola Oscura" EP can be your for anything you want to pay.

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

Uppsala Solemne - Logo de Manhã (2017) EN

Cristiane Miranda and Leonardo Fleck are not from Uppsala nor from any other Swedish city but from Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, it's enough to listen to Uppsala Solemne's new EP to realise that they are well aware what "Scandinavian music" means.

Miranda is a classical musician so she has to be the one to provide the project with this amazing mood based on piano keys and violin strings (as in "Flor de inverno..." being one long classical composition from time to time disrupted with delicate folk-like vocals). In fact the whole album is like this and creates something that could be called folk-classical ambient that speaks to very deep levels of your soul. Sometimes, as in "Volta" it is more folkish, sometimes ("Green Shore") classical but the album still sounds like a well thought through and complete composition.

"Logo de Manhã" ("early in the morning") can be bought for 2 USD. 

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:twitter:

Huszar - Los Nuevos Absolutos : Acto Segundo (2017) EN

Huszar, one-man project from Buenos Aires is one of the most depressive things I've heard recently. And one of the most involving. The Argentinian advertises his album saying "the path finishes where it started, the blind followed the path of the deaf, there was nothing". How not to smile? There is only three songs in the album but it doesn't mean anything, it still lasts almost 45 minutes. Three quarters that don't feel too long even for a moment. They are a graceful (probably not the best word) combination of electronic flow and heavy guitars.

The very first track shows what the album is capable of. It begins with lively electronic soundscape that sounds as if watched fro windows of a speeding train. The impression is even stronger with fast, metal-like drums forcing listeners' blood to speed up and eventually with other metal elements - aggressive guitars and dramatic vocal. The latter sounds as if it belongs to a caged animal living behind a few walls so you can't be really sure if you didn't dream them up. And if anybody wonders, he sings about black auroras.

Next two tracks just confirm it. Again, there is an unsettling symbolism that both suits the metal music aesthetics and draws attention with being original. The second song is about a coral moon, the third one about astral wrath. All of them strikes listeners with their power and speed.

The album is available for "pay-what-you-want".

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

Superficial - Montevideo (2017) EN

Superficial is an artistic nickname of Federico Schmid of Buenos Aires. The three sets of ideas he follows in his art (and perhaps in his life) are romanticism, symbolism and hedonism. The first two can be easily found in "Montevideo" since such enigmatic music is a symbol of its own. But hedonism? Maybe some of the people in the audience will adapt it for the soundtrack of their daily pleasures.

"Montevideo is a collection of song created in 2015-16 in one of Argentinian rooms. They're mixture of ambient, delicate noise and elements of post-rock, that forces in subconsciousness and feels itself at home there. It's also a musical journey. It has to take place somewhere near the capital city of Uruguay. Among sleeping oaks and the lakes of mercury in which one can bath. Doesn't it sound pleasant? It's also "pure melancholy, the one that cannot be explained, and uncertain future that come from the unpredictable fate".

The album is available for "pay-what-you-want". Delicious. 

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:soundcloud: