Silva’ is the debut release from Norwegian-based label Miasmah, yet it is by no means their first foray into the music scene. After working as a net-label releasing MP3 albums and EPs for years, they have already racked up over 60 releases, featuring artists such as Helios, Paavoharju and Deaf Center. No surprise then that holding the reigns at Miasmah is Erik Skodvin, one half of the aforementioned and always mysterious Deaf Center. While compiling this compilation, Skodvin asked artists he had worked with and who he admired to create a track with a theme in mind; theatrical and dark organic music. Hearing Deaf Center’s most recent album ‘Pale Ravine’ would give you a good idea on this sound, yet Skodvin wanted to take it further, and in doing so he has managed to collect up some of the best artists working in the genre at the moment. Opening the compilation is newcomer Makunouchi Bento who contributes a solemn piano piece, before Type mainstay Julien Neto launches into ‘Ninety Four’, which is the first we’ve heard of him since his breathtaking debut album. City Centre Offices double act Yasume also make an extremely rare appearance with new track ‘Wakare’ (which for those interested means ‘Farewell’ in Japanese…), a Lynchian fusion of strings and digitally enhanced beats. Marsen Jules, also of City Centre Offices, offers up yet more of the droney orchestral goodness we have come to love with ‘Rainy Days in Milan’, and Type’s Ryan Teague takes the orchestral theme even further with a dark violin piece, guaranteed to send shivers down your spine. As the record comes to a close, with the blood curdling tryptich of Dead Center, Svarte Greiner (Erik Skodvin’s solo project) and Lampse’s Jasper TX one thing is on your mind, to press play once more and re-live the darkly mysterious dreamscape that is ‘Silva’.
Despite this being their debut release, the Norweigan-based Miasmah label have catalogue numbers running well into the sixties? How so? The wonders of the internet old boy… With digital releases from the likes of Helios, Deaf Center and Paavoharju, it was always a fair bet that when Miasmah eventually decided to get physical it would be for something special – and ‘Silva’ is just that. Featuring a slew of artists that include Marsen Jules, Ryan Teague and Jasper TX, ‘Silva’ also plays host to a brand new Deaf Center track – one half of whom (Erik Skodvin) happens to run the label. It’s a small world… Based around a central theme of dark and organic theatrical music, the given artists were then granted a free remit to approach the subject as they saw fit – with each proffering a composition that both reflected the subject matter and their individual oeuvre. Kicking off with a spectral piano piece from Makunouchi Bento, things are edged up a gear (all within context of course!) through Julien Neto’s ‘Ninety Four’ – wherein the French University lecturer builds upon the foundations he laid on his Type debut, and progresses the wispy entrails of electronica and instrumentation in a quite pleasing direction. From here, Yasume make something of a comeback through a coalition of moody strings and crispy beats, Marsen Jules summons up some muted orchestration as a delicious precursor to his forthcoming album, whilst Ryan Teague darkens the mood through some witching hour strings. Dark and rimy without becoming suffocating, ‘Silva’ is an album that takes itself very seriously – and for once that’s a good thing.
Track 01 written, produced, mixed and mastered by Felix Petrescu and Valentin Toma (Makunouchi Bento)
Artwork by Erik K. Skodvin aka Svarte Greiner (Deaf Center) [, , ]
Mastered by Andreas Tilliander at Repeatle
Dark mysterious dreamscapes, droney orchestral magicke, sinister violins, solemn dusty pianos, and breathtaking fey-beauties. "Silva" is the debut release from Norwegian-based label Miasmah, curated by Erik Skodvin of Deaf Center fame. [...] Opening the compilation is newcomer Makunouchi Bento who contributes a solemn piano piece, before Type mainstay Julien Neto launches into ‘Ninety Four’, which is the first we’ve heard of him since his breathtaking debut album. Read more...
First out was thus the Silva compilation, like a teaser of the gems that were to follow, where the up and coming names of contemporary electronica once again contributed with exciting material, simply looking back at the list leaves your mouth watering… Julien Neto (ed. long-standing personal favourite of this editor!), Yasume (Helios and Logreybeam collaboration), Gultskra Artikler, Martin Juhls, Ryan Teague, Greg Haines, Jasper TX and Deaf Center/Svarte Greiner themselves. Read more...
Though the contributors comprise a diverse lot, the collection's overriding tone is one of textural melancholy, the atmospheres the contributors sculpting typically sombre and morose in spirit (apparently Skodvin asked each artist to create 'theatrical and dark organic music' in keeping with the album's intended theme). Consequently, a unified mood permeates, or should I say, haunts the disc. Read more...
And yes, this is quite special, you can tell just by looking at the dream team of contributing artists, gathered from top notch labels like City Centre Offices, Type, Lampse or Resonant. Oh, and you gotta give it up for our very own MaBento kicking off the whole show (I’m so proud of you guys!). Of course, with such a vast array of creativity comes a theme to bind them all, that is “theatrical, cinematic and dark organic”. It flows through minimal drones and post-rock, classical tones mixed with abstract glitches or field recordings, the acoustic and the mathematical. It can be tense or filled by melancholic abnegation, emotional throughout, hypnotic, breathtaking but not suffocating. Most excellent. Read more...
Und ein weiteres Netaudio-Label wagt den Sprung in die Wirklichkeit, tauscht Bandbreite gegen Jewelcases und die erste Compilation kann sich sehen lassen: Marsen Jules, Julien Neto, Jasper TX, Library Tapes, Gultskra Artikler, Greg Haines, Svarte Greiner, Yasume, Deaf Center, Ryan Teague und Makunouchi Bento rollen ihre langsamen, gefühlvollen Tracks aus und die Zeit ist längst stehen geblieben, wenn man sich fragt, warum plötzlich alles so wattig verpackt langsam ist. Read more...
Die an Filmmusik grenzenden, sehr ruhigen, minimalen und melancholischen „Modern Classic“-Kompositionen vermitteln ein Bild eingefrorener Momente natürlicher Schönheit, wie fallende Blätter oder morgendlicher Rauhreif an den Bodenpflänzchen. Bei der kleinsten Erschütterung würde alles zerfallen. Die in Form von getragenen Streichern, bedächtigen Piano-Tropfen oder gänzlich aus abstrakten Umweltsounds generierten Surroundings werden von Effekten und fragilen Glitch- oder DSP- Schnipseln im heute situiert, wie das Nachhallen städtischer Hektik und Entfremdung in der auf den ersten Blick unsequenceten Natur. Man wagt es kaum zu atmen. Read more...
Si Miasmah était jusqu’alors un netlabel mais aussi un espace dédié au design et aux arts graphiques, cette compilation Silva vient ajouter une corde à l’arc tenu par le norvégien Erik K. Skodvin, puisqu’elle marque l’emprunt d’une voie nouvelle, celle de la production de disques matériels. Tout est ici affaire de famille, d’esprit de fraternalisme, de partage des idées musicales, lesquelles se situent à la croisée de l’électronica abstraite, de l’ambient environnementale et de néo-classique à forte connotation cinématographique. Read more...
Mais Miasmah s’intéresse désormais à la production de disques matériels (aussi immatérielle qu’en soit le contenu) et publie Silva, manifeste d’ambiant/electronica/néo classique plutôt nordique, qui regroupe les protagonistes du label mancunien Type, quelques invités de la structure berlino-mancunienne City-Centre-Offices (liés à Type via la distribution Boomkat/Baked Goods) et quelques amis. [...] Quelques rares exceptions permettant d’éviter la consanguinité trop forte du projet, terriblement cohérent, et offrant des moments vraiment réussis. Read more...
Une autre très bonne compilation d’électronique ambiant vient de sortir sur le label Miasmah Recordings. Elle regroupe une sélection judicieuse d’artistes très en vue qui s’inscrivent dans cette mouvance crépusculaire entre minimalisme et romantisme. Le roumain Makunouchi Bento, le français Julien Neto, le russe Gultskra Artikler, les suédois de Library Tapes et de Jasper TX, les norvégiens Svarte Greiner et Deaf Center, les anglais Greg Haines, Yasume et Ryan Teague et l’allemand Marsen Jules.
Silva - tyli, lėta, netriukšmingas, kai kur bauginanti ar sukelianti šaltį. Nors kiekviena kompozicija ganėtinai panaši, jos turi vis skirtingą temą ir nuotaiką – tai spalvų bei nuotaikų kupina elektronika, kurioje girdim daug gyvų instrumentų bei randame vietos savai interpretacijai. Jai klausytis reikia laiko bei tinkamo momento – tai nėra muzika TIESIOG. Ją išgirsi tik susikoncentravęs bei įsigilinęs į garsus. Miasmah rinkinys neturėtų patikti visiems, nes tai subtili, rafinuota elektronika skirta šiek tiek išrankesniam klausytojui. Read more...
Langsomt mørkner himmelen over et bølgende landskap, hengende mosekledde trær sukker i skumringen, tåkete enger strekker seg tungt innover i det grå. Det er slike bilder som starter å rulle i hodet når musikken på samleplaten Silva går sine runder i spilleren. Det har den gjort tiltagende ofte den senere tid. Kanskje det er høsten som truer utenfor? [...] The dusty mysticism created by organic instruments meets a dream-creating electronic world, from the short opening track to Makunouchi Bento's single piano which is covered with crackling noise dust, followed by Julien Netos (by the way hears his lovely Le Fumeur de Ciel, Type, 2005) electro-acoustic swords. Read more...
Уже открывающее компиляцию короткое интро Makunouchi Bento “Piacente”, содержащее полторы минуты модернистских пассажей на фортепиано, обработанных с помощью электронных аудиосредств, в достаточной степени интригует, а следующие 10 треков убедительно доказывают, что в музыкальном пространстве есть некая борхесовская точка Алеф, где встречаются вырывающийся из академических рамок модернизм и классический эмбиент, а кинематографическая гармоничная неоклассика соседствует с декадентствующим построком. Read more...
C’est pourtant un musiciens présent sur aucun de ces deux labels qui débute Silva : le Japonais Makunouchi Bento avec une electronica expérimentale mêlant accords plaqués de piano et triturations grésillantes. Place ensuite au Français Julien Neto, auteur l’an passé d’un bon disque sur Type, qui, ici, délaisse quelque peu son ambient prenante pour une electronica délicate aux notes cristallines. [...] Une compilation de très bonne tenue donc, où on ne fera certes pas de découverte mais sur laquelle on est content de retrouver des artistes et formations largement appréciés par ailleurs. Read more...