Cantaloup, Trondheim, Net Label Review

I find it really quite amazing that each year some of my favourite albums are those that are made freely available on non profit net labels, over the last few years wonderful free albums have appeared and wowed, occasionally stunning, not least in the case of French Teen Idols Enlightened False Conciousness, all three Bosques De Mi Mente albums and the groundbreaking dreamscapes of Encephala's We are the Dreamers of Dreams along with worthy mentions of the Archaic Horizon roster boasting the healthy releases of Boards of Canada-likes Gabriel and the graceful Future Dream by Statedlife.

This year has been very much the same and though there are probably a thousand albums i haven't heard, two artists that i have been fortunate enough to cross paths with are Cantaloup and Trondheim.
Cantaloup being the project of Thomas Peters is dreamy and ambient, twinkly songs falling between post rock and electronica, arriving not a million miles from French Teen Idols sound but taking it to the next level with the aid of Eva Pauls beautiful voice who features on several tracks that bring a slight folk element to the equation. I cannot recommend Cantaloup highly enough.

Last FM: Cantaloup, aka Thomas Peters, who lives in Marburg/Germany has been producing music since 2003. He decided to use the resources and experiences of bedroom production studios to create music which tries to take listeners on journeys, on which sound evokes images in warm colours. The bigger part of the songs and spheres are played live with instruments, supported by Eva Paul who brings her beautiful voice into a few songs. These fragments - with the little help of some fx - merge to an extraordinary overall view, whose appeal lies in its own form of slowness and in a reduced perception on small things of everyday life.

Trondheim on the other hand is more beat driven and classically influenced, occasionally borrowing from the text book of Detektivbyrån but bringing an altogether more techno feel to the proceedings with stuttering beats complimenting gently played pianos and keys and on tracks like Der heimliche Star des Abends bringing back memmories of Random Number at their best.

Last FM: since pianos fit into laptops, one can finally set them up pretty easily in a small flat without losing one’s bedding. they also get along pretty well with some other wonders of digital technology, while accepting some downsides as well of course. trondheim is ansgar seide, hailing from münster (germany) and produces fragmented electronica with lots of melodies

Cantaloup - On a Hill Not Far Away (full album zip)
Cantaloup - Tonight It Shows (full album zip)
Trondheim - Zum Abschied Album Zip
Trondheim - der erste widersacher und sein untergang
Trondheim - entweder terence hill (full zip)
French Teen Idol - Enlightened False Conciousness (full album zip)
Bosques De Mi Mente - Lo-Fi (full album zip)
Bosques De Mi Mente - Trens De Juguete (full album zip)
Bosques De Mi Mente - Ruido Blanco (full album zip)
Encephala - We Are The Dreamers Of Dreams (full album zip)
Gabriel - Good Old Days (full album zip)
Statedlife - Future Dreams (full album zip)

Aerotone Net Label
Earstroke Net Label
Archaic Horizon Net Label
Lost Children Net Label

Corwin Trails & Ascalaphe Reviewed

Corwin Trails & Ascalaphe Reviewed
Posted on 2007.08.28 at 20:56
Current Music: Verbose - Observe
Tags: archaic horizon, ascalaphe, boards of canada, earstroke, french teen idol, skam, the books

Corwin Trails - Corwin Trails (Archaic Horizon)

Stunning little EP from the kind people at Archaic Horizon, as with most of their releases this is ever so slightly indebted to the Boards of Canada, though as I have previously said that isn't often a bad thing. If like me you love tracks such as Dandelion, the simple psychadelic kaleidoscopes of electronica graced with clever samples, children’s stories and philosophy lectures then this will more than satisfy your appetite for more. Those familiar with the work of French Teen Idol will be likewise delighted. Each track is a childlike wonder, so much so that its hard to decide between Oasis is Myth and Icicle as to which is the better, childlike innocence matched with curious electronical experimentation.

Corwin Trails LP (zip file)

Corwin Trails - Oasis is Myth MP3

http://www.myspace.com/corwintrails
http://www.myspace.com/archaichorizon

Ascalaphe – The Hollander Café EP (Earstroke)

Another discovery of electronic mischief, treading similar paths to The Books, though on a rainier and therefore muddier day are Acalaphe, the brainchild of Fred Debief whose work has previously appeared on the critically acclaimed Skam label. Abstract and strange its bound to have its doubters but what we have here are glorious collages of samples, field noises, cat’s miaows and electronic mayhem, though slow and organised mayhem if such a thing exists. Well worth a try.

Ascalphe – The Hollander Café EP ZIP

Ascalaphe – Alter Ego MP3

Ascalaphe – Cat Time

http://www.myspace.com/ascalaphe

www.earstroke.com/