In a beautiful catalogue

My album "El libro de los árboles mágicos" is featured in this beautiful catalogue by Pastel Records, Japan.

Album of the month @ Electroaocustic Tales

Long awaited but finally released the ‘Luz’ LP by Every Hidden Color is on heavy rotation over here. Combining forces of drone artist Nicholas Szczepanik and ambient composer Federico Durand this record is an ambitious project that works with field recordings, drone layers and minimalistic melodic parts and both artists handwriting is shimmering through the richly textured soundscapes.

Anticipating the conclusion the album is simply sublime in every respect and consequently is listed as the album of the month September.

Sometimes you get completely lost in the deeply breathing drones that are full of warmth and comfort. It’s difficult to explain but nearly automatically I lean back in my chair and just let the music happen. Yes, the music happens and not just plays as it seems to tell so much about nature, life, colours and landscapes. That’s at least what I think to hear. Actually there are no titles for the parts of the album so I might be wrong. Anyway, later you realize that an introspective and minimalistic melody just slowly came in and added even some more beauty to the overall sound. Sure, I didn’t praise an album that much for a long time – be it the long time I’ve been waiting for this one to be released – but it’s one of the best releases this year so far. By the way, side B reminds me a lot of one of my favourite releases ever (‘Minima Moralia‘ by Chihei Hatakeyama).

Thank you very much, Electroacoustic Tales! F.

Every Hidden Color review @ Brainwoshed (USA)

Brainwoshed, USA

A perfect pairing, Every Hidden Color is Argentina's Federico Durand and the US' Nicholas Szczepanik, both relatively young purveyors of dreamlike ambient music.  There are not really any surprises on this two track LP, which is a good thing:  it is a carefully constructed work that mixes beautiful, formless tonal drift with rich melodies of subtle construction.

Streamline

While Szczepanik has been rather prolific in short, diverse pieces (such as his Ante Algo Azul series of 12 3" cds), Durand has stuck mostly to the album length format, on works for Spekk and Own Records.  The two side-long pieces that make up Luz then seems to be a perfect middle ground for the two artists to work within.

The introduction to the A side of this work is really the only time that things are harsh:  a combination of fuzzy, almost abrasive noises and field recordings, creating a sense of tense urban chaos, which is soon counteracted by the appearance of delicate melodies.  These repeating tonal structures weave in and out, becoming the center of attention and enveloping the field recordings into a rich, powerful piece of music.  Slowly, almost imperceptibly throughout, these individual notes begin to blend together into a shimmering, amorphous drone that conveys the same lush beauty, but in a less structured manner.  Oddly enough, it is on a colder, isolated, almost creepy note that the side ends.

On the other side, more pastoral field recordings are mixed with looped, abstract textures to fascinating effect.  Atop this, slightly treated guitar is placed, mostly just delayed, so it retains the instrument’s natural sound.  The combination of conventional sounding guitar and processed, textural ambience works well together, and eventually the whole thing is bolstered by what sounds like layers of droning synthesizers, ending the album on a drifting, billowy passage.

Throughout Luz, a sense of delicate, but powerful beauty emanates from the layers of electronic sound and cautious melodies.  An unending stream of tone flows like a slow river, carrying glorious textures with it.  While there is an admirable simplicity to the way the album is constructed, it is by no means sparse or skeletal, it has just enough going on to be captivating, while still remaining meditative and calm.  Durand and Szczepanik compliment each other perfectly, and the result is a beautiful piece of sonic experimentation.

Creaig Dunton

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Thank you very much Creaig Dunton & Brainwashed, F.