AHNST ANDERS. MANY WAYS. CD. ANT-ZEN ACT225
though he started as a dj that focused on electronic sounds, ahnst
anders wanted to present his own creative output to the public. so in
2003 he replaced record players with musical instruments. he now works
as a stage and studio performer who merges collages of noises, organic
sounds and electronic music into a inimitable blend of dark ambient and
experimental music. his debut album 'dialog' was released in 2007
simultaneously with his first concert at maschinenfest. following this
were various remixes, collateral sound work for art
exhibitions/installations and a collaborative album with config.sys.
now ant-zen presents ahnst anders' second full length album. 'many
ways' is based on different field recordings of natural sources (fire,
water, wind), found objects (chains, metal breakers) and different
daily environments (street sounds, trains). using the inspirations
received from these recordings anders transformed the raw sound into
tracks that range from ambient to breaks. during the production process
he kept his senses and spirit as receptive as possible, treading many
paths to achieve this result. this open-mindedness to try 'many ways'
named the album. the music on this release combines ambient soundscapes
with a huge variety of rhythmic patterns - from tribal breaks to slow
dub-influenced cadences. ruminant keyboard layers with added field
samples generate a mixture of soothing and unsettling atmospheres.
(dark) ambient, musique concréte and repetitive beats offer a
soundtrack for a large number of moods. as anders elaborates: 'music
is.. the elixir for impetus, joy, emotion.. every day we are exposed to
disturbing strong sonic waves; why shouldn't we turn these into
something interesting?'
available: 08september2k9
LINGOUF. ANGE ET GRUIKK. CD. ANT-ZEN ACT226
lingouf's second album on ant-zen illustrates a further exploration
into this artist's very special aural and visual thinking. to him,
music and the corresponding artwork are allegories of a general
emotion - moments of happiness brought by love, but importantly
happiness overlaid with the knowledge of sadness, melancholy and loss.
'ange' (angel) and 'gruikk' (lingoufs onomatopoeia for distorted mind /
thoughts) can be seen as ensigns for this symbiotic emotion. which is
also represented on the front cover: a homage to the 1594 french
painting, 'portrait of gabrielle d'estrées and duchesse de villars'. on
this release's six tracks, lingouf allows each composition to blossom
and transform. from the megrim of 'le carnaval des animaux' (influenced
by the programme music cycle of the same name composed by camille saint
saëns in 1886), the drifty bass pulses/beat shuffles on 'ange et
gruikk' and 'garage', the straight and partly distorted floor burners
'vifoogy' and 'st-geniez' and lastly the broken beats and rich melodic
layers of 'dorpramepasu'. 'ange et gruikk' abducts the listener into a
very unique cosmos of deep spheres, sounds, emotional atmospheres and
hypnotizing sonic playfulness. an audiolicious mélange of ambient,
technoid and industrial music.
available: 14september2k9
TALBOT & DERU. GENUS. SPECIAL EDITION CD. ANT-ZEN ACT236
genus is an electro-acoustic score for wayne mcgregor's ballet of the
same title, based on charles darwin's discovery of evolution. the
musical composition in eight parts is a collaborational work between
joby talbot and deru. talbot has a high profile as a film and tv
composer. screen credits include cult television comedy series ‘the
league of gentlemen’ and ‘the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy’. deru
is benjamin wynn, an electronic music producer from los angeles. his
music is best described as an amalgamation of hip-hop, electronica and
idm. genus embodies a synergy and culmination of various musical
influences. minimal music and 20th century compositional textures
performed by a ten part choir and four string instruments establish a
perfect symbiosis with deru's complex electronic patterns.
indescribably beautiful and haunting, the music is delivered with
intensity and artistry and can be enjoyed as a self-contained work,
even if there is no opportunity to view the ballet. this cd edition
including two video clips and an additional pdf document is limited to
100 copies and will be released in an outstanding hardcover book-sleeve
packaging with embossed linencovering and 20page booklet.