Constellation Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/constellation/ New and independent music Fri, 19 Jun 2015 18:11:37 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-finalwhite-e1490809629909-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Constellation Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/constellation/ 32 32 88787050 Saltland – I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2013/06/19/saltland-i-thought-it-was-us-but-it-was-all-of/ Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:33:38 +0000 http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=382 Saltland is the name of the new project of cellist Rebecca Foon, former member of Thee Silver Mount Zion and Set Fire To The Flames and founding member of chamber group Esmerine. The debut album, I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us, is a melting pot of genres, with elements of chamber music, shoegaze, ambient and drone all mixed together with dreamy vocals to form something difficult to categorize but mightily effective.  The result is an […]

The post Saltland – I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us appeared first on Various Small Flames.

]]> Saltland is the name of the new project of cellist Rebecca Foon, former member of Thee Silver Mount Zion and Set Fire To The Flames and founding member of chamber group Esmerine.

The debut album, I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us, is a melting pot of genres, with elements of chamber music, shoegaze, ambient and drone all mixed together with dreamy vocals to form something difficult to categorize but mightily effective.  The result is an album of experimental songs that explores aspects of different types of music without ever feeling inaccessable or difficult to listen to.

The record is one of many layers and the context in which you listen to it produces very different experiences. As background music to an evening it is a pleasing listen that is easy on the ear, never getting too harsh and jarring you out of whatever else you may be doing. As the soundtrack to a train journey it brings to mind the slow machinations of the city or countryside, with tracks slowly unfolding with a natural ease. Best of all, and where I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us comes into its own, is a fully involved listen, maybe lying in bed, surrounded by darkness. The layers becomes more pronounced, each strand separates and becomes an important piece of a complex arrangement. It’s the perfect night time headphone adventure in which to lose yourself.

The album is out now on Constellation Records.

The post Saltland – I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us appeared first on Various Small Flames.

]]> 382 Efrim Manuel Menuck – Plays “High Gospel” / Esmerine – La Lechuza https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2011/04/12/efrim-manuel-menuck-plays-high-gospel/ Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:32:00 +0000 http://www.wakethedeaf.co.uk/?p=820 Those kings of esoteric experimentalism, Constellation Records, have just announced the release dates for two albums, both of which I will be awaiting with baited breath. First up, on May 24th, is the first solo LP from Efrim Menuck, co-founder of legendary experimental post rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor and post-punk-folk outfit Thee Silver Mt. Zion. I’m of the firm opinion that everything Menuck touches turns into pure liquid spectacular, and from the small tasters available so far I […]

The post Efrim Manuel Menuck – Plays “High Gospel” / Esmerine – La Lechuza appeared first on Various Small Flames.

]]> Those kings of esoteric experimentalism, Constellation Records, have just announced the release dates for two albums, both of which I will be awaiting with baited breath. First up, on May 24th, is the first solo LP from Efrim Menuck, co-founder of legendary experimental post rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor and post-punk-folk outfit Thee Silver Mt. Zion. I’m of the firm opinion that everything Menuck touches turns into pure liquid spectacular, and from the small tasters available so far I can deduce that Plays “High Gospel” will only confirm this hypothesis. There are obvious echoes of Menuck’s previous work; the droning guitar textures and soaring soundscapes swathed in analog delay are reminicient of GY!BE’s frequent forays into the abstract, while the meandering vocal lines could easily have wound up on a Thee Silver Mt. Zion track. But from the two tracks below, it seems that Menuck has managed to avoid merely regurgitating elements from his earlier projects and has incorporated them into a sound that is all his own.

The album is available for pre-order from Constellation in a variety of formats, including sumptuous 180g vinyl, accompanied by some original artwork.

Efrim Menuck

Also out on Constellation Records in the near future is La Lechuza, the first album in six years by Esmerine, which also features members members of GY!BE and Thee Silver Mt. Zion, in the form of percussionist Bruce Cawdron and cellist Beckie Foon, respectively. Combining glockenspiels, marimbas, a harp, poetic cello phrases and the occasional vocal, Esmerine create what they call “modern chamber music”.  I’m not usually the emotional type, but what I’ve heard of La Lechuza so far is quite simply beautiful.

La Lechuza is released on June 7th, and you can pre order it over at Constellation.

The post Efrim Manuel Menuck – Plays “High Gospel” / Esmerine – La Lechuza appeared first on Various Small Flames.

]]> 820