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Two years following 2017’s Costero, Slow Meadow returns with its third full-length album Happy Occident, a collection of textured ambient melodies. Fueled by the anxiety derivative of modern life and the frenetic and often uncertain state of these ever-changing times, Happy Occident provides music for reflection. A soundtrack to life’s contemplative moments, and an experience akin to mindfulness meditation.

“The album is like a waking dream of ideas strung together in a nonlinear fashion,” says Matt Kidd. “I have been thinking more about what it means to be ‘Happy’ in the Occident. Happiness is often nothing more than a false promise used to sell something, even ideas. I dwell on the utter failure of that word, especially in comparison to something like the Greek word ‘eudaimonia.’”

To complement the sound of Happy Occident, Slow Meadow enlisted the talents of violinist Ellen Story, whose playing, Kidd says, dictated much of the direction on a couple of tracks.

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ODD OKODDO is a Kenyan/German duo consisting of Olith Ratego and Sven Kacirek.

The two artists met in Kenya, about a decade ago, when Sven Kacirek was recording his "Kenya Sessions", an album that put Kacirek on the map of outernational producers. It was reviewed as a "World Music 2.0" (de:bug magazine), whose "fascination endures" (The Wire). Olith Ratego also made an appearance on the "Kenya Sessions”, on the track "Too Good To Be True".

The duo formed the project ODD OKODDO in 2018, with the two musicians joining their various talents which dovetail in perfection. Ratego writes the lyrics and vocal melodies while Kacirek composes, records and produces the arrangements of all nine songs on AUMA. They create a colourful, dynamic sound which is defined by both Ratego’s enormous vocal compass and range of timbres as well as Kacirek’s outstanding skills as a sensitive percussionist.

Olith Ratego sings in a musical style called "dodo", which originates from the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, high in pitch and soulfully expressive. He refers to his music as "dodo blues". His lyrics touch upon the topics of politics, family and of course: love. As a skilled luthier, Ratego builds his instruments himself, like the five-stringed Okodo which lends its name to the project.

Sven Kacirek is a multi-instrumentalist who has been commuting between Germany and Kenya for many years now. In the past he has closely collaborated with various international musicians, among them Nils Frahm and Shabaka Hutchings. Kacirek’s sound builds upon a powerful bass marimba which is present throughout the album. It sometimes invokes the sound of a tuned 808 kick-drum. He works with an arsenal of Kenyan percussion instruments as well as household objects and found materials. Kacirek has now settled into a signature sound which has been described as "thrilling and dizzyingly inventive" by the Australian Cyclic Defrost magazine.

The LP comes with a printed inner sleeve with liner notes by Tabu Osusa from the Nairobi based label Ketebul as well as explanations about the song lyrics. 
Credits
All compositions by Olith Ratego & Sven Kacirek.
All lyrics written by Olith Ratego.
Arranged and produced by Sven Kacirek.
Vocal recordings by Steve Kivutia at Ketebul Studio.
Artwork by Ventral Is Golden.
Cover Photo by Martin Drix Muyeshi.
Sven Kacirek would like to thank Tabu Osusa and Evelyne Mocha Nyokangi.
Olith Ratego would like to thank Lucy Ilado.

Pingipung 068
© & ℗ 2019 Pingipung

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Alex Albrecht returns to the Analogue Attic imprint this October under his Melquíades guise; delivering a five-track package in the shape of 'Lanterns'.

Albrecht explains "The concept is a continuation of my last release with AAR and aims to take the listener on a journey to a strange place - Falling asleep, it leads one down a rainy, lantern-lit path and into another world.
At the end of the record, the listener is finally awoken by a familiar voice."

All of the compositions are improvised explorations with field recordings at their core as the framework.
'Lanterns Pt. 1 & Pt. 2' lead, easing you into the project with swirling, hazy atmospherics and ethereal piano melodies floating atop rounded subs and soft percussion.

'Neon Canal' follows, bringing the rhythm to the forefront whilst bubbling bell chimes, warm chords and expansive delays ebb and flow within.
Up next is Cockatoo Horizon a Balearic tinged cut employing off-kilter organic percussion, soft guitar licks and airy atmospherics before 'Embers ft. James Harbard' strips things back to floaty chords, bumpy drums and jazzy guitar melodies subtly unfolding throughout.

'Federation Bells' then rounds out the release on beatless tip, laid out over six minutes with otherworldly tones, melancholic piano chords and textural 

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A solemn reflection of night time in the forests in autumn, where the trees quietly shed their leaves, like layers of the past. Their branches are like arms reaching out into the cold night, embracing those on moonlit paths with their earthly warmth and comfort. They are rooted in hope and know that the cold and somnolent months ahead will give way to flourishing growth…

This album is an evolution of sound and concept that started with Repose, released in 2017. It’s meant as an artful and balanced approach to meditation and sleep music using 432 hz tuning without that being the actual focus. Creating these albums was and continues to be a personal journey of self healing and a catalyst for emotional relief but the intention is for the music to accompany states of being during lifes various moments, awe inspiring or tragic. The atmospheres are meant to envelope the listener in auditory comfort that empathizes with the listeners current mood, positive or negative, without any force. Darkness and light come together to make compromises and drift away together in a synergistic haze, replacing the spaces in our mind clogged up by irrational thoughts, anxiety and worry. This an ode to acceptance and inner stillness, allowing the mind to transcend below the surface world as a detached observer of our reality.

Physical CD and Tape editions include all 3 albums, "Repose", "Promontory Drift" and "Somnolent". 

Credits:
Stereoscenic Records [SCENE-31]

Music & artwork by Bryan Hilyard
Mastering by Andrew J Klimek

See also:
hilyard.bandcamp.com/album/promontory-drift
hilyard.bandcamp.com/album/repose

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Amsterdam-based label Kalahari Oyster Cult proudly presents release #18. UK transplant and currently residing in the techno mecca Berlin, A Psychic Yes a.k.a. Timothy Crombie delivers his sophomore EP named “A Maze Dream EP”. The title track immediately mesmerizes with its abundantly organic beauty. There is a direction from this relatively new artist that is unique and special. Japan's Sapphire Slows remix follows it up and brings the beat more to the forefront in a trippy journey that defies laws of gravity. Tribal is an understatement for this EP. More of being immersed in a kind of primitive sunken garden. “Forest Floor” starts off the second side with an alien language all its own while “The Skaters” absorbs you in a primordial rainforest groove. The sounds throughout this EP are natural, innate and anatomical. This is an essential release to have that blurs the lines between land, sea and space.