ephre imprint

further underwater noises reviews

underwater noises (by ephre imprint)

i swim two times a week in a swimming pool and i am always surprised by the sound of the water, my breathing and the bubbles. sounds under water have a strange effect, it is stronger, disformed and smooth. i was happily surprised when I had to review this compilation cdr, because of my fascination of water. attilio novellino and enrico coniglio invited 15 italian artists to submit a track inspired somehow by the notion of water. most of these musicians are working in the drone and ambient scene and use electroacoustics, microsounds and droned sounds to create their compositions. the compilers are paolo veneziani, cop killin’ beat, lla04, ennio mazzon, enrico coniglio, un vortice di bassa pressione, christian di vito, leastupperbound, allesio ballerini, francesco giannico, obsil, ornitology, elisa luu, gigi masin and pierpaolo leo. the sphere of the cdr is calm and relaxing. some artists use synthesizers or guitar and add the sound of rain or water to their floating tones. others use more the sound of water or interpretations of this theme. the music is available as limited cdr or as free download via lost children net label. of course, the theme water is used many many times in musical history, but this well curated compilation is a nice addition to this history and how italian composers deal with these theme. (jkh)

original webpage here: vital weekly 769

various - underwater noises (ephre imprint)

new water themed compilation from ephre featuring 15 Iialian sound artists. comps are a notorious pain in the posterior to review as before you even start you have to make a conscious decision on how you are going to listen to it and write it up - track by track or as a whole.   ambient comps help in some ways as they are meant to be pretty cohesive affairs so here goes. on the whole it’s much of a muchness.  some field recordings, some twittering, chittering, skittering sounds and some slow wash drones make up the majority of tracks here. most are very listenable, some are excellent (ennio mazzon, un vortice di bassa pressione & christian di vitto) and the music generally merges into one long track which I liked very much as it keeps one in the moment. 

i’m not really a fan of compilations. i find the constant stylistic changes to be a little jarring and distracting but that’s not the case here. of course you could say that displays a massive lack of imagination on the behalf of the participants but equally you could make the claim that it shows a consistency of vision on the part of the compiler. whichever side of that particular fence you come down on (I’m the latter) this is worth a listen. (ian holloway)

original webpage feb 2011 issue @ wonderful wooden reasons

various - underwater noises (lc/eph01)

uscita congiunta per lost children ed ephre in questa raccolta curata da attilio novellino ed enrico coniglio il cui tema principale è l’acqua, intitolata “underwater noises”. ad ogni artista (tutti esclusivamente italiani e già noti ad un discreto pubblico) è stato chiesto di presentare un brano ispirato in qualche modo al concetto di acqua ed il risultato è un album uniforme, che spazia tra generi e sottogeneri dell’ambient (field recordings, glitched digressions, electroacoustic idylls, dreamy soundscapes). tutte le tracce sono qualitativamente buone (anche se nel caso dell’ambient faccio spesso fatica a distinguere i compositori dei vari brani). in particolar modo apprezzo i rumori profondi e ripetitivi di “tanaro” dei cuneesi cop killin’ beat, che mi accompagnano in uno spazio freddo e buio, perfetto per una passeggiata  all’interno di un relitto di una nave nella profondità del mare. in “two years ago” obsil dimostra di avere delle qualità compositive non indifferenti, donando un brano stupefacente dove gli innumerevoli rumori di fondo giocano con i vari temi di una composizione straordinaria e variegata. fino ad arrivare a “piano” di elisa luu, compositrice elettro-acustica romana dalla personalità ben definita, che in questo caso offre un brano con un crescendo estremamente coinvolgente. un quieto galleggiare in un mare invernale improvvisamente disturbato da indesiderati pensieri tentacolari ma che con un’enorme forza di volontà vengono soppressi per ritornare ad una serena pacatezza. tutti i brani della raccolta possiedono comunque un loro fascino intrinseco e una riconducibilità acquatica onnipresente. per gli amanti dell’ambient questa è una ghiotta prelibatezza ed un nuovo centro per la scena elettro-acustica italiana.

original webpage @ netmusic life here:

http://netlabellife.blogspot.com/2011/01/lceph01-various-artists-underwater.html