MDAC004 Monthly Discerning Audio Chart, February 2009

Chart number four, and another month of discovering some excellent music that is both weird and wonderful. There's all sorts of styles here - so if you listen to one of the tracks and are not keen, there's every chance you'll find something you'll enjoy if you look around for some of the other tracks.

ZENITH/MIKROKRISTAL - 'Oneirographic'
"Slowly emerging as an excellent portal for fans of light/drone Ambient, Endless Ascent has just released another stunning release. Having just written an album about sleep/dreams, I was drawn to the subject matter of this album. It's very very well put together, and I enjoy every nano second of gentle sound! Be sure to check this one out, particularly Phase Four - the vocal soundwash is unbelievably haunting..."
http://www.endlessascent.com/ea006.html

NIGEL SAMWAYS - "Veilleur De Nuit"
"Another month passes and I've discovered yet more talented fellow sound-designers. This four track album is from British artist Nigel Samways, released on the netlabel section at Experimedia. What I like about this release, is that it sways effortlessly between recordings, drones, sounds and distant echoes of noise. It doesn't necessarily stick to one steadfast theme, and listening to the album gives off the feeling that you are aimlessly wondering through a busy city in a daze. Be sure to download your copy via the following link:
http://www.experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=free "

BRIAN GRAINGER
"On listening, my conscious mind is not overly familiar with this album. Yet it is my subconscious that informs me that I've spent a lot of time listening to this over the last month. This release has been a regular on my sleep playlist, and I'd recommend it to anybody who likes to stick some drones on at night-time. This is an old netlabel release which is excellent subtle Ambient/drone music of the highest standard...download here from the RAIN netlabel:
http://www.useirecords.ovh.org/rain/rain012.html "

PANOPTICA - "Tecnica Manana"

"Try to keep this list of tracks as varied as possible as I listen to all sorts of styles. Here's a nice bit of laidback downtempo/IDM to relax into. Fans of my 3 course mix series should enjoy this one; good iPod music is this for when you're on the go..."

SOUNDS FROM THE GROUND - "Move On"
"Music you listen to doesn't have words in it, they say to me...well often not! As I am able to appreciate sounds that go beyond what the vocal chords can produce. Plus, I think that it takes an excellent singer to be able to suit whatever other sounds are in the tracks - you can't just be a half decent singer and start 'ruining' whatever melody has been produced. But here's one of the rare tracks in my collection that I feel the vocals complement the track and vice-versa. It's got that melancholy rainy-day feel to it - perfect for accompanying a late night wander home."

ASTRUD GILBERTO - "Who Needs Forever" (Thievery Corporation Remix)
"Some more of that nineties-esque downbeat electronica. The kind of music that is often wrongly labelled 'Ambient', but is still good nevertheless. 'Chillout', they also call it. I tend to just call it good music, to be frank. I'm not going to listen to it and spend three minute half-listening trying to work out what to file it as!
I've included two tracks from this Verve Remixed album that I picked up from HMV at Lincoln recently. Was off on a shopping trip, and this was playing in the background. I probably appreciated it a lot more, as I'm used to hearing an absolutely dreadful array of commercial nastiness in these stores."

ELLA FITZGERALD - "Wait 'Til You See Him" (De-Phazz Remix)
"Second standout track from that Verve CD - wasn't going to actually buy the album until I'd heard this one. Really nice languid remix of this classic - more of that nineties sounding downbeat electronica that is often over classified. Fitzgerald is obviously a classic singer and a huge talent and approaching her material from a remix angle is not to be taken lightly. Very tastefully done indeed by De-Phazz."

JAN JELINEK - "Western Mimikry"
"Included some Jelinek stuff on another chart, and I have to say that I'm a fan! This is very unusual the way the notes subtley change pitch and keep true to the groove somehow. Very intelligently produced; nice and laid back in a sort of post-rock way."

FRANK LEICHER - "Lazy Weather E.P"
"Bought my first batch of House/Techno records since September this month...and this techy joint is full of groove. 'Lazy Weather' is a lightly-tribal edged dancefloor cut, remaining interesting enough for spinning at gigs. On the flip, Christian Burkhardt works it into something that exploits the dancefloor territory further. The B side is much trippier with its synth washed rhythms, but I wouldn't deem it un-spinnable. More of a back-to-mine record for those later hours.

ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT - "A Quiet Innovation"
"Scrolling up, it appears I've not included much Ambient! So looking through what I've been listening to this month, I remembered this absolute beauty. This is superb Ambient music, and for me it encapsulates everything that the genre is about. It is pure bliss to listen to, it really is."