Visible Cloaks

Time for a thread about these guys (though I did consider posting this on the YMO thread and seeing where things went, as dedicated single artist threads tend to die on the vine here lately). Probably like a lot of you, I loved Spencer D's Fairlights, Mallets & Bamboo mix from a few years ago (and didn't realize there were three sequels until I read the recent Pitchfork thing, linked below), but I'm really enjoying the new Visible Cloaks album, Reassemblage. In fact, despite being increasingly less of a vinyl guy every day, I splurged for the LP because it comes with an exclusive mix via cassette.

This is the place to discuss Visible Cloaks (is their first album worth hearing?), Spencer D's mixes, and this unique style of--active ambient? Fourth world new age?--in general.

http://pitchfork.com/features/rising/10026-big-in-japan-visible-cloaks-and-the-power-of-cultural-exchange/

absolutely love this

if u like this check out the georgia album 'all kind music' on palto flats

Their RA podcast from last week went all over the place musically and had minimal interest in the dancefloor but was sublime in several places.

hipster level: above 9000!!

fyi i bought one of the first 100 "fairlights mallets and bamboo" when it came out so i'm not judging

I know. I usually feel immune, even a little hostile to this level of relative hype and more often check such stuff out so I can say "har har har, 'great' you say? Haaaardly, posers," or something. But this really got to me. Even a stopped hipster clock is correct twice a day, etc (see also: Boards of Canada)

I need to check out the other three mixes.

yeah me too ... the interni italiani one in particular sounds great

i haven't heard this album yet but i ordered it so should be able to share my observations soon

I love this hipster shit

If hipsters aren't going to innovate who is?

ILX all acting like this is Salem or some shit

so far it seems like an arty version of the music they play when you're getting a massage

Better be fretless bass here

Is it one for ye olde sadly neglected knew-age thraed?

If such a thread exists, yes absolutely

i like the first VC lp more than the new one; hoping it grows on me.

i'm finding this is pretty boring tbh but maybe i'm not in the right head space for it today

some nice sounds though

nah it is boring, in one ear and out the other unfortunately, no compositional chops in this age of gearhead tweakers. that's what sets 0PN apart imo. my friend otm "sounds like video game loading music"

I'm not sure why listening to this reminds me of listening to High Places for the first time...

This Motion Graphics track (as well as the whole Lifted "1" record that him and Max D et al collab'ed on) is one of the things under this general aesthetic sensibility that I keep coming back to, fwiw (and yes, as noted above a few of the Georgia NYC tracks have stood out to me, too): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3mH_UDCx8Q

this new one sounds pretty good on paper but so did the last one and i hardly ever want to listen to it

anyone heard it?

https://shop.igetrvng.com/collections/all/products/visible-cloaks-yoshio-ojima-satsuki-shibano-frkwys-vol-15-serenitatem
Visible Cloaks and Yoshio Ojima! Already got this on pre-order.

cool cover

yoshio who?

i was thinking of starting a rolling 4th world thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRxDysnjlzs

Missed this thread somehow. 'Stratum' came up on my release radar, this is really gorgeous.

Turns out a run-in with the rona is the right time to properly get to grips with Visible Cloaks. I've barely listened to anything else - including the wider constellation of stuff surrounding Spencer Doran, the Fairlight mixes and the Kankyo Ongaku compilation etc.

I need to dig around/backwards a bit more, but for now my ranking would be something like:

Kankyo Ongaku
Reassemblage
Frkwys: serenitatum
Fairlight 1 mix
Lex
S/t 1
Interior Spaces mix
Fairlight 2 mix
S/t 2

There's something incredibly soothing and welcoming in the palette of sounds, but it's more than just consolation (though there is that). The continuum with the Music From Memory label is pretty clear.

Anyway, what else is good?

If you haven't done so already you should check out the Music Interiors 2 mix, which is basically the same idea as the first Music Interiors mix and the Kankyo Ongaku comp, but with Italian ambient/minimalist/"fourth world" music instead of Japanese, and roughly from the same era:

https://soundcloud.com/visiblecloaks/music-interiors-vol-2-interni-italiani

I didn't think it would be possible for a mix to be as immersive/transportive as the first Music Interiors, but this one might actually surpass it for me

I've never got round to it. Will have a listen.

Spencer / VC is probably the single biggest influence on my listening in the last ten years. They've just opened up whole scenes, approaches and constellations of sound for me - both VC's own output, and the various mixes, old album uploads to the Root Strata blog, reissues on the Empire of Signs label... Even Spencer's twitter, where he pops up in other peoples' replies with music recommendations from his (presumably vast) collection, is a mind-expanding rabbit hole. I blurted out some sort of garbled things for all this after a gig last time VC were in London - I think maybe he thought I was insane, but I was glad to be able to thank him!

Pretty much any mix is worth listening to - most of them explore a concept that is pretty illuminating! Some favourites are:

https://www.dublab.com/archive/peak-oil-w-guest-timothy-j-fairplay-visible-cloaks-tipping-point-08-24-18/
The second half of this show is a VC mix which uses the global sound of Hosono's Omni Sight Seeing and Sakamoto's Beauty as a jumping-off point for other artists taking the same approach at the cusp of the 80s and 90s.

https://www.factmag.com/2019/11/05/visible-cloaks-fact-mix/
I think there's some sort of concept running through this one about Paul De Marinis-style speech synthesis but I'm not so sure!

https://soundcloud.com/music-for-environment/mfe002-visible-cloaks
An architecturally-inpspired mix that roams all over the place - has some moments of pure gorgeousness in there (esp the ssaliva track)

https://soundcloud.com/fakerolexxx/visible-cloaks-portland-oregon
The Ellen Zweig track on here absolutely stopped me in my tracks.

There was also a Vol 3 of Music Interiors which goes back to Japanese environmental music on NTS:
https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/music-for-interiors-volume-3-5th-september-2017

Fantastic set of links bamboohouses.