New post added at TheSirensSound - Soft Recordingsthesirenssound/2014/12/26/soft-recordings/ Soft Recordings is a small independent label focused on Ambient, drone & experimental music. The label produces and delivers physical releases as well as digital ones and are a non-profit recording label. Soft was set up by David Teboul AKA (Linear Bells) earlier this year and have released the following albums. CATALOG DEC 2014 Fabulations By [ Kate Carr ] NOV 2014 Cracked Echoes By [ Arash Akbari ] OCT 2014 Proposte Monochrome By [ Kissy Suzuki ] JUL 2014 Movements For An Absent Mind By [ Darren Harper ] MAY 2014 The Stars Will Shines By [ Linear Bells ] MAR 2014 An Introduction To By [ Various Artists ] Latest Release On Soft Rec Label Kate Carr Fabulations BIO Kate Carr has been investigating the intersections between sound, environmentalism and technology both as an artist and a curator since 2010. Since that time her work has garnered an increasingly strong reputation, with wide ranging positive reviews in important ambient publications and review sites, national and international radio play and inclusion in two significant sound retrospectives via London’s GV Arts Gallery and Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia. She also runs the record label Flaming Pines. PRESS A soundtrack for made up stories set in out of the way places. It is always an immense pleasure to rediscover the musical works of Kate Carr. I have always enjoyed Kates music, because I constantly have the impression of meeting an old friend, who I have never been able to forget and who I find with sheer and unfeigned pleasure with each new production of this Australian multi-artist now living on the old continent. Fabulations continues exploring our planet and society by trapping sound particles in various countries (Kate Carr is an insatiable globetrotter, and sounds were recorded in : Marseille, Nice, Cefalu, Catania, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dungun and Barcelona) with the occasional accompaniment of atmospheric instrumental layers. It is this finely sculpted subtle blend, this goldsmiths manipulation of sound that Kate the traveler offers us, with the final masterisation by Taylor Deupree making this new album timeless, fragile, warm and ultimately essential. REVIEW I don’t travel much anymore. However, in my stint with the military I spent a fair amount of time in foreign places. As a means of compensating with my discomfort I would occasionally make up stories to accommodate my surroundings. For example, I spent a month or so in Wales, and the wilderness was teeming. It sounds hokey, but the landscape seemed to mirror my state of mind, and occasionally vice-versa, yielding emotions and realizations I didnt know I was capable of. This interplay had me convinced in the power of travel as a means of self-discovery. With Fabulations, field recording artist Kate Carr does what I did, albeit much more elegantly. She constructs narratives based her own emotions and realizations, indicative of her surroundings. The exchange between her headspace and her physical space is fluid and seamless, as though they work collectively, illustrating in tandem. Fabulations is a tapestry of both fragility and strength, as it explores the weaknesses of the human psyche alongside physical endurance. Trekking throughout Europe, be it in Italy or Ireland, France or Spain, Carr is the archetypal wanderer - in mind and body. Field recordings are usually highly interpretive, and unravelling the snippets of sound can lead somewhere just as easily as nowhere. Carr titles her songs smartly, essentially throwing us a bone. The beautiful “I remembered it all Somewhere Near Glasgow” displays the sentiment of discovering harsh realities in an unsympathetic backdrop - similar to hearing news of my grandmother’s death from my sergeant, an indifferent messenger, a thousand miles away from home where I mightve felt some comfort due to familiarity. The way the intro’s melody repeats at the song’s midpoint shows the habit of reiterating things in your head, serving no purpose beyond obsessing futilely. “I felt Better About Everything In Dunquin” is a bit deceptive, as it implies a resolution, but still harbours feelings of uncertainty and discord. The moody drones clash beautifully with chimes, giving way to the sounds of harsh winds. It’s as though Carr’s rationale is crumbling and the environment is taking over. The most genuinely serene moment on Fabulations is “Tourists Boat in Les Calanques”. It feels like Carr is basking in the ambience, rather than using it as a vessel for negative thoughts. Granted, the distorted luau music feels half-hearted, but at least it’s progress. As she drifts down the river, the sounds of wildlife accompany the smooth drones perfectly, and she is able to look back with a smile on her face. Fabulations is music crossing the line dividing passive enjoyment and full-fledged therapy. Carr’s compositions delicately balance emotionally powerful drones with vulnerable thought patterns, peppered with field recordings that add an irreproducible dimension to the sound. It is both contemplative and spontaneous, as a tale of someone looking for change but clinging to negative memories. Despite being recorded in several different countries, traces of unresolved problems give the album a unifying concept: on a journey of self-discovery, there’s no guaranteeing you’ll like who you find. But, you can be accepting. Bit by bit, step by step, you might even grow on yourself. If the closing track “Bleeding Love (Bus / Sicily)” serves as any indication, it’s as simple as letting the environment fill your ears, drowning out your self-doubts. As the Leona Lewis song plays in the background, it seems like the song bears significance to Carr, perhaps remnants of a negative relationship. I can only speculate. The field recording artist never utters a word, but as the hustle and bustle of the city bus grows more and more rowdy, its as though Kate Carr is saying “Almost there. If only this bus were just a bit noisier, maybe I’d actually have some goddamn peace and quiet”. ___[ sputnikmusic ]. MORE REVIEWS [ Beach Sloth ] [ Music Wont Save You ] Released 25 December 2014 SOFT-RECORDINGS presents ST006 Title : FABULATIONS Release Date: December 25 - 2014 Written, Recorded and Processed : KATE CARR © 2014. Mastered by TAYLOR DEUPREE CD Artworks & photos : David Teboul & Kate Carr Distribution : BANDCAMP | Format : Ltd 4 panel Digipack CD + Digital. < < < < < [ [ BANDCAMP ] | [ FACEBOOK ] ]. > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Artist - Kate Carr Album - Fabulations [ * * * * * ] Release Date - 2014 Genre - Ambient, Instrumental, Field Recordings, Drone [ AWESOME ] Tracklist 1. Cold Trains 05:45 2. Sound Art In Barcelona 07:23 3. Under An Ancient Fort 04:56 4. I remembered it all Somewhere Near Glasgow 09:03 5. Broken Sheep Fence, Gale 02:14 6. I felt Better About Everything In Dunquin 08:41 7. In Corridors A Thousand Years Old 09:32 8. In Sicily I slept In The Shadow Of A Rock 12:15 9. Tourists Boat in Les... 06:25 | 10. Bleeding Love (Bus / Sicily) 02:22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kate Carr - Fabulations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fabulations by KATE CARR --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------admin
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:42:21 +0000
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