Articles
2008 Top 10s and 20s
orchestramaxfieldparrish

Albums
A Gilbert Play
Alva Noto
Amplifier Machine
Antripodean Collective
A Setting Sun
Auton
Pierre Bastien
Bible & Henry
Byetone
Chartreuse
Milton Cross
dot tape dot
EOC
Erstlaub
The Foreign Exchange
Gregory And The Hawk
Robin Guthrie
Helios
Ezekiel Honig
Ryoji Ikeda
Kontakte
Kromestar
Luomo
Menahan Street Band
Motorcitysoul
Moust. Mountain / Forrest
Lisa Nordström
NOW
Roger O'Donnell
Panic Lift
The Postmarks
Jonas Reinhardt
Sasse
The Sight Below
Sleeps In Oysters
Terminal Sound System
Thisquietarmy
Robert Scott Thompson
Veliotis / Grivas
Xela
Ystävät / Sunroof!

Compilations / Mixes
Basswerk Sessions Vol. 3
Cosmic Balearic Beats
Matthew Dear
Deep Sensations II
electr-ohm compilation 2
Saturday, I'm In Love
Silence Was Warm Vol. 2
What We Did / What We Do

EPs
The Bug
DJ Aakmael
Jimmy Edgar
D. Gookin
Hearin' Aid
Le Technique
Mr. Messiah
Nudge
Olde Soul / Double K
Pendle Coven
Vacant Passages Vol. 1
Ben Watt

VA: The Silence Was Warm Vol. 2
Symbolic Interaction

Nothing but contributors' names and track titles accompany Symbolic Interaction's latest compilation, but the double-disc's title, The Silence Was Warm Vol. 2, perhaps functions as a sufficient indication of the release's character with nearly all of the twenty pieces being of the gentler persuasion, and delectably so. Certainly Hiroshima-born Kashiwa Daisuke's elegant opener “Coto,” five gorgeous minutes of solo piano playing, establishes not only a beautiful mood but sets the bar high for the tracks that come after. The range of styles is broad, and it's a global affair, too, with many artists from Japan, naturally, contributing but figures from the US (Kentucky) and the UK (Leicestershire), Belgium, Napoli, Greece, and Berlin appearing too.

No doubt purely by coincidence, the strongest tracks place either piano or guitar at their centers. An early highlight is Bitcrush's (n5MD head Mike Cadoo) “A Place Of Exits,” a dreamy, guitar-centered blend of post-rock and shoegaze; a plangent electric guitar melody courses repeats over the song's midtempo lilt, with strings adding drama and intensity during the song's second half. Also memorable is yellow6's (Jon Attwood) “Kulturhuset” which exudes desolate, lonely character in its ever-so-delicate electric guitar playing and is powerful in an understated way. The almost nine-minute running time gives Attwood sufficient time to increase subtly the piece's intensity, so much so that its distorted guitar component emerges almost subliminally. euphoria's wistful waltz, “December” is likewise lovely in its deployment of lyrical electric guitar playing. Absent Without Leave (Athens, Greece-based George Mastrokostas) also contributes a pretty, stately ballad in a hybrid ambient and post-rock style with electric guitars the dominant voice (“Following a Trembling Star”).

Picking up where Daisuke leaves off, David Newlyn, recording artist as well as manager of October Man Recordings, contributes a sterling piano piece of his own (“Always Drawing Pictures,” augmented by electronic atmosphere and field elements) which complements the album's theme perfectly. Piano is also the central voice in phon°noir's (Matthias Grübel) lilting “Untitled Miniature #2” but it's by no means the only one, with percussive clatter, guitars, and electronics also dotting the tune's path. In its marriage of pretty piano melodies and electronic sweetener (synthesizers, beats), Cheju's (Wil Bolton, co-owner of Boltfish Recordings) “November” offers a refined example of his electronic-acoustic sound. A collagistic potpourri of voices, electronic flourishes, and head-nodding swing, Quiroga (Walter Del Vecchio)'s “Capolinea” proves to be a welcome addition to the oft-beatless collection.

December 2008