Pulsar Wind Nebula-Sewn Dystopias (2011)

It takes a special kind of musical taste to enjoy ambient music.  It is a style of music that is varied and often misunderstood.  Ambient music splits into two major sub genres called electronic and drone.  It can be a difficult genre to get into due to the almost exclusive down-tempo nature of the music. 

Without giving you the lecture on the ins and outs of ambient music (I am certainly no expert), let me briefly talk about the music of Pulsar Wind Nebula.  This artists has perhaps the coolest name in all of ambient electronica.  I'm a huge space nut, so I geek out when a band or artist chooses to name themselves after something spacey.  Now I need to go read up on exactly what a Pulsar Wind Nebula is. 

This artist does not stray much from what the name implies.  The music is slow, spaced-out and introspective.  It incorporates lush instrumentals along with beautiful melodies and atmospheres.  This album uses odd time signatures with some super funky electronic beats and samples to create an out-of-this-world aura.  The melodies are surprisingly simple and easy to indulge, bringing to mind some post-rock qualities.

Somewhere lost in the mix are sparse, low register spoken-word vocals and understated strings that at times remind one of film music.  Upon Listening to "Sewn Dystopias" for the first time, I was reminded of some of the spooky undertones present in Mist Glider's latest effort. 

This was an impressive listening experience, but I feel a word of warning has to accompany this review.  This, like most ambient music, can be physically tiring on the senses due to the relaxing calm the music induces.  It is also quiet, so it doesn't make good driving music.  I found it to be really good, but ease in and out of it and listen in moderation.  This album helps in that it is quite short for a down tempo album.  Information on this band's origins are sparse, but going off the artist's bandcamp page (which provides us with our stream below) you will see that this artists is from Izmir, Turkey.  This makes the first artists in my library from Turkey. 

Another good thing about this album: It is available as a name-your-price download from bandcamp.  Just enter any dollar amount (including 0 if you so choose) and you can download it instantly.  Pulsar Wind Nebula also has another album there entitled "2", which is also available via the 'name your price' option. 

I recommend June, Miss You, and Wind Chill Factor as standout tracks on this disc.  You can check out the entire album stream below.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Mist Glider-The Pyroclastic Flow

Recently I have been reading a lot about volcanoes and learning some interesting information that has been new and enlightening to me.  I'm a fan of learning if I have the time, and in fact can do it on my own time.  By now I am able to define what a pyroclastic flow is.

A pyroclastic flow is a superheated surge of volcanic gas and rock collectively known as tephra that is emitted during an explosive volcanic eruption.  For two examples, I would point to the 1980 explosion at Mount St. Helens.  That event unleashed a pyroclastic flow that destroyed the nearby forest.  Another, perhaps more pertinent example, would be the infamous event at Mt. Vesuvius which buried the Italian city of Pompeii in ash and rock.

In the interest of not turning this into an educational piece on the awesome power of volcanoes, I will now turn the the music of Mist Glider. 

The newly released album from Mist Glider is an eclectic selection of off-kilter electronic tunes that defies description.  This is music that you have to hear to appreciate.  If you are not a fan of electronic music in general, it is a safe bet to assume that you would not like this album.  This music float across the ears with vivid, pulsing rhythms and atmospheric eruptions of sound that are at the same moment unsettling and startlingly beautiful.  This formations of sound often take on textures of nu-jazz with echoes of ambient music spaced over the mix.  These rhythms are varied enough to never get old, yet stylish enough to be easily predictable so that one can nod in time with the music.

Mist Glider have crafted a deceptive album that somehow sounds exactly like you might expect by admiring the wonderful cover art.  This music is hypnotic and spellbinding.  It would be a great addition to any collection of weird electronic music. 

In some ways this album can be reminiscent of some of Trentemoller's more rhythmic tracks, but in other ways drastically different.  "Pyroclastic Flow" was not at all what I was expecting, yet pleasing and refreshing.  Perhaps the best part about this LP is the fact that all of it is available for free download at soundcloud.  To give you an idea of what you're getting into, I'm including a few of the standout tracks at the end of this post.  Do enjoy!