Was hungover yesterday morning after too much champers at my four-week-old's welcome party. Even codeine couldn't help. Forgot my ipod too so had to listen to humanity on the tram, ghastly. Got home and needed comforting, so listened to the following.
I hadn't played Eno's Ambient 4: On Land for a while, and my how wonderful it is. With the gently chirruping frogs he skirts close to scented candle territory, yet paradoxically it's also his darkest ambient work. Marked by indigestion-like groans and slow, grating stomach twists, it's relieved by a shimmering warmth and soothing Gaviscon glow; an expertly balanced album.
Also listened to Akira Rabelais's excellent Caduceus from late last year, another album with two poles to it: gorgeous, sinuous threads of sound, and Mego-esque noise bursts sharp like a scalpel. I skipped the latter and savoured the former: as beautiful as anything he's done, slippery threads of guitar tone sliding between faint gritty elements, his trademark processing needling them deep into your ear cavity.
Excerpt below from Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad, shades of the art from Motion Sickness of Time Travel:
Above all from Caduceus, fantastic album. His website remains uniquely odd, based upon changes from the I-Ching, a la Cage. Developed years ago when the web was in its infancy, sad that it still stands out as innovative in an interweb choked with obedient blandness.
akirarabelais.com
His software Argeiphontes Lyre is also available here, Mac users only, although I've never worked out how to access anything from his cryptic website:
Argeiphontes Lyre
And a wee treat: Hollywood:
Hollywood
We'll hear more from Rabelais in future, he's long been a favourite of mine, but I'll leave you with this:
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