LF-22 Glimpse, Marc Egea

I have some news for the loyal fans of Lunar Flower. Lunar Flower is calling it a night and this will be the final release. As much as I love doing LF I just don't have time for it anymore. I'd like to apologize to Marc Egea for the very long time it has taken me to finally post this album. Even if this is the final release, all of the music will stay online indefinitely. The website will stay up and all of the albums will remain download-able as long as archive.org hosts them.

That being said, this final release is VERY GOOD. Marc Egea's "Glimpse" was crafted almost entirely with the Hurdy Gurdy, which is an odd string instrument that looks almost like a violin, but is cranked to produce it's sound. Marc crafts minimal and classical compositions using this strange instrument along with almost scat type singing, hand claps and minimal world-beat percussion that produces something quite expressive and unique.

The music is contemplative and intelligent. Deep listeners will truly enjoy this recording for its musicianship, originality and tonal qualities. Recording quality is superb and crystal clear.

Please enjoy "Glimpse" by Marc Egea and thank you to all of the loyal Lunar Flower supporters.

Marc's bio is as follows:

"Marc Egea, Barcelona, 1973

He studied philosophy, flabiol, guitar, hurdy-gurdy and musical harmony. He began his career as a professional musician in 1990 with the trio “Musics de Safeu” and later with “Pont d'Arcalís”. Since 2005 he has been a freelance musician and has played with numerous national and international artists in many different musical styles. He was a founder member of the quartet “Kaulakau”, the “Maram Trio”, the “Peter Skuce & Marc Egea Duo”, amongst others. He is a member of the “BiB” (Barcelona Improvisors’ Orchestra). In addition he continues to develop his creativity as a musician, composing and performing in the fields of dance, theatre and poetry recitals. Furthermore it is rumoured that he plays in the controversial and polemic group  “Electrosonik Monk”, but this is something he has continually denied.

He has recorded more than a dozen albums, both as soloist and in collaboration with various bands and artists.

He has composed of several works – for brass ensemble, symphonic band, chamber music, choral, etc.

He is the author of a method for hurdy-gurdy Iniciació a la viola de roda (DINSIC, 2008).


Sant Pol de Mar
Barcelona-Spain
www.marcegea.com
www.myspace.com/marcegea2"

Flac, Waves, Oggs and MP3s all availible here

Live experimental music in St. Pete!

LF-21 "frivolitats magnífiques" Voïvode de la Transylvanie

Miquel Pons was born in Menorca, a little spanish island in the Mediterranean and makes music under the name Voïvode de la Transylvanie. He uses a mixture of modified and home made instruments, VST plugins, feild recordings, as well as live instruments to create some truly special sounding music. I've never been to Menorca, but since Miquel told me that the place had a large influence on the sound of "frivolitats magnífiques", I can only imagine it must be a very special little island.

We start off with the sound of chimes being gently blown with a serenading flute to sweep in a slow and steady picking guitar that holds down the melody of "Marxa nupcial pel Rei de Tropolàndia" There is a very youthful and nostalgic feeling to this track, and it sets a fitting vibe for the rest of the album.

We are next taken to world of "Només vull ser superficial" which is a composition composed of very pure sounding tones and strings which sustain to the backdrop of watery droplets and slowly sweeping filters which produce a floating sensation to the listener.

In "Ablucions de sa Bassa de Sant Pere" we start to hear more digital sounding blips and beeps that lead you into the stunningly beautiful "Américo" that is composed of thick and melodic ambiance with a myriad of French horns and brass sounds taking the lead melody which give it a regal feel.

This leads the way for my favorite track on the album, "Era un fosquet estocàstic, estimada comtessa" that is like a Hawaiian dream-scape of xylophones, hazy static vocals and a lonely steel guitar that feels like a warm breeze in a strange alternate-reality exotic and beautiful island. Maybe this is the sounds of Menorca rather than Hawaii. Either way, what is produced is one highly interesting piece of music that just makes you feel great to listen to.

Further along in "Nadales de sa Princesa de la Cucanya" a cute little Casio Tone carries a choir to the sound of church bells and basses. There is again a sense of royalty to the sound, a majestic feeling is conveyed.

Later in "Renouetes" you almost feel loved by the sounds, they are so absolutely friendly and good sounding, almost comforting, like everything is going to be okay, in fact they're going to be better than okay! There is a very rare purity to this album.

More songs continue you on your journey though the fantasy kingdom of Voïvode de la Transylvanie where you encounter strange but harmless lifeforms who come baring gifts of sonic complexities. You see lands never quite seen before, yet you feel right at home and welcome there. Once you enter this land, you will not want to leave.

Finally with the album's closer "Torre de Hölderlin" we hear a more buzzy electronic drones with melodic fluctuations that carry the melody. This song almost leaves you feeling the album is an unfinished story, like there is more to come in the future similar to when a movie sets up a sequel at the end. This is not saying that the recording doesn't complete itself, but rather ends on a question mark rather than a period. You are sent back home after your strange journey wondering when you can return.

Over all Voïvode de la Transylvanie delivers one incredibly great album with "frivolitats magnífiques" that virtually puts you inside of a CS lewis novel. It is uplifting, unique, melodic, inspiring, imaginative, and still quirky and a bit odd.

I highly recommend the flac version of this recording for maximum quality because the recording on this album is absolutely superb.

Download the flac version in full here.

Get all other versions here.

Thanks to Miquel for letting Lunar Flower release this wonderful recording and thanks to you for staying loyal to the Lunar Flower mission of bringing beauty back to the listening experience.

Enjoy!

Deleting sound cloud account

please do not use sound cloud to submit any music to LF anymore. After using the site for a while I don't see an benefit over rapidshare or similar services. Plus it is actually more limited as far as free space. So from now on just go back to sending me links to your music when you want to submit.

Thank you,

Management.

LF-20 In The Semi-Underground Cafe - ExoticModulationSky

ExoticModulationSky is the sound project of Tokyo artist Tomohiro Kobayashi. Using no laptop or computers to create his sounds, Tomohiro crafts peaceful modulations using various external gear such as stompboxes, mixers and the likes. Unlike others who use the same technique, Tomohiro's work does not come off as being the slightest bit noisy or harsh. Instead what is produced is a very organic and flowing sound that conjures blurry dream like audio-images through a thick watery haze of impressionism.

Pulsating slowly and randomly but with direction, there is a definite intension and mood conveyed on "In The Semi-Underground Café" of peaceful wonder and contemplation. Imagine lying on your back in a country field gazing up at the stars on a beautiful clear night and realizing the light you are seeing from them is actually hundreds or thousands of years old. This is because the stars you see are hundreds and thousands of light years away and of the time it takes light to travel through space to reach your eyes. This wonder is awe inspiring and gives you a sense of connection to something really big.

Like the light, sound is something that happens in time. You listen, and it is happening as you listen in your reality. However, it originated at a different time all together. Even when you see live music, although minuscule, there is time between the guitar or drum being struck until the time it reaches your ear. The beautiful thing about Music like ExoticModulationSky is that it is timeless in a sense. The creation already happened at some other time but it recreates itself over and over again upon each listen. This no doubt has to do with Tomohiro's spontaneous technique of creation.

The creation happens time and time again upon every listen. Your ears recreate the swells, curls, bends, pulsars, scoops, fades, washes, drones, echoes, shifts, modulates and rests. This is the relationship between Tomohiro and you. You are an active listener. You are participating in the experience as well as experiencing it.

So relax, lay back and look up to the ExoticModulationSky and see the sounds of the stars and eternity.

This is LF-20, our 20th release! And a damn good one if I do say so myself.

Get it here!

Stay tuned to Lunar Flower, there are several fantastic releases planned for the future. The submissions I have been getting lately have been frequent and very good.

LF-19 Sonidos Árticos - Zar Baroz

Zapping your mental cosmos from Costa Rica, Zar Baroz are sure to please Lunar Flower's 'Space Ambient' fans. Space is indeed the place on Sonidos Árticos.

This is ambient music that never gets boring, new sounds present themselves throughout the entire recording from behind androidal drones and pulsating waveforms. Strange sounds morph and twist by your ears like octagons and paralelagrams floating in a gravity-less ether of emptiness.

This is the sound of time travel experiments gone awry. The speed of light has never been so slow. Crawling blips and buzzes tickle your eardrums to inspire visions of wandering satellites through nebulas before a sudden rush of solar wind comes along to blow you off course into strange never seen before worlds.

Creatures made of accute angles and 4th deminsional traverlers aid you in the interperitation of this work by whispering sweet somethings somewhere in the center of your mind.

This is Sonidos Árticos, by Zar Baroz - Lunar Flower release #19, Enjoy :)

Get it here

Somewhere in Bahia

I found this video on youtube while browsing through various Brazilian percussion videos. I really thought it was cool. Too bad the sound quality isn't a little better. But its good enough to hear what they are doing. I like the idea of having a percussion ensemble with one lead instrument. Even though it doesn't say exactly where it was recorded, I'd say somewhere in Bahia judging by the types of drums being used, and that the kid playing the Surdo is using two mallets instead of playing it with one mallet and one hand.

Enjoy,