Article
Ten Questions: Manual

Albums
Alejandro & Aeron
Balustrade Ensemble
Jeremy Bible
F.S. Blumm
Cadence Weapon
Cataclyst
Cepia
Chloé
Cooler
Disinterested
edIT
Erik Enocksson
For Barry Ray
Ernest Gonzales
Grand National
Hakobune
Halou
Frode Haltli
Arve Henriksen
Ielasi & Ratti
Jumpel
Lawrence
Lickets
Manual
Melodium
Mono
My Fun
Marissa Nadler
Prints
Rekalix
Remote_ vs Ontayso
Will Saul
Sixtoo
Small Sails
Songs Of Green Pheasant
Christian Wallumrød
White Rainbow
Xeltrei
Yndi Halda

Compilations / Mixes
Paolo Mojo
Ewan Pearson
VA: 5 Years Get Physical
VA: Monza Vol. 2
VA: U-cover mix 01 [a]
VA: U-cover mix 02 [d]

3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Ateleia
Pier Bucci
Cio D'Or
Cloudland Canyon
Curium
Laurine Frost
Dave Graham
Hakobune
The Infant Cycle
Lerosa
Lullaby Leagure
Mole Harness
Mowbray & Sullivan
Ontayso
School of Seven Bells
Science Teacher
Sleep Robot
Unwed Sailor
VA: Spies & Lies
Rick Wade

Cepia: Natura Morta
Ghostly

Though Huntley Miller has issued EPs and a Sublight collection of originals and remixes, Atlantic Blood, under the Cepia name, the all-new Natura Morta feels like his debut full-length, even if its modest, 33-minute length characterizes it more as a mini-album. The Minneapolis producer proves himself a master of concision, with the longest track in the four-minute range, but don't be deceived: the pieces are anomalously short by electronic music standards but Miller works a wealth of fine-tuned detail and richly textured sound design into each setting. “Opening Parade,” for example, rolls out funk beats and off-beat melodic snippets that call to mind Plaid and Chiastic Slide-period Autechre but, after making its point, exits after three minutes. “Dot,” on the other hand, distorts (presumably) Miller's voice to such an extreme, it becomes a babbling stream of carousel-like garble.

It'd be a stretch to say that the eleven pieces are ‘about' anything in particular (a notion reinforced by two pieces having ‘untitled' names), even if Miller himself describes the album as an extremely personalized response to life events and circumstances circa 2005-06, when he recorded the album “in seclusion.” Cepia's music is hardly alone in being hermetically self-contained, however, and there's still lots that one can latch onto while listening the music. The album sprinkles soundscape vignettes filled with vaporous swirls, shimmering washes, and chordal streams (the shimmering overture “Braille Wounds,” “Wavebnc,” “Untitled II”) amongst the more in-depth forays into electronic beatsmithing. Tracks of this kind make the strongest impression: “Hoarse,” which layers a sparkling melody over crisp, head-nodding beats; “The Undeniable Bend,” which sweetens its hip-hop/funk groove with subtle percussive treatments and a deep synth motif; and, perhaps best of all, “Untitled,” which succeeds as a beautiful marriage of downtempo funk and melodic gleam.

It might be more than a little worrying for electronic music practitioners like Miller to see labels like Merck, Sublight, and Neo Ouija close their doors (though the latter is being resurrected), so it's good to see Ghostly keeping its SMM venture alive by supporting acts like Cepia, Loscil, Kiln, and Twine, and releases like Natura Morta.

October 2007