Manual 'Ascend' ; shoegazing IDM?

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Manual’s Ascend ( Morr Music ) has been heralded as a shoe-gazing influenced IDM album. Angry Robot gave it a good review.

Jonas Munk, Danish (a former heavy-rocker by some accounts) has released a collection of dreamy soundscapes using ambient synths, + fx-laden guitars, that evoke long summery evenings listening to BOC, the Cocteau Twins +, err, Slowdive. The tropical beach sunset artwork strongly echoes Fennesz’s Endless Summer. I’ve fallen heavily for the final track Keeps Coming Back , but elsewhere I swing between enjoyment and reserve, and can’t quite surrender to it. Perhaps its all bit too tasteful, too introspective and ethereal (this is also how I found the shoegazers first time round) . Any views?

― stevo, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"that evoke long summery evenings listening to BOC"

the idm scene has become so stifled that people are now releasing music that's evocative of listening to OTHER music?

― Mitch Lastnamewithheld, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Music is for all! ;-) The general dance/gaze connection has long been around in weird ways (almost always geared to the gaze side of the equation, admittedly). "Soon," duh, but then there was Seefeel in particular, who arguably started this specific trend years before a label was attached to it (being remixed very early on by Aphex Twin, eventually joining Warp, etc.). So I'm not surprised that there's a potential strand starting to emerge more.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The recent Herrmann und Kleine is even more shoegaze, no? (Shoegaze = adj.)

― Andy K, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Shoegazery.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Strategery

― Andy K, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

i think ascend is a slightly better album than the first one - at least its got less clickety pops, which, although once beautiful, are beginning to tire me.

i think the hermann and klein really treads a fine line between creamy cheese and sublime atmosphere, more of the former i would add.

i would recommend the new metamatics album if you are beginning to tire of morr which has gone a bit "slowdive" of late...

― ddubrajah, Thursday, 25 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

new one is like an entire album of just the pretty edges of slowdive's 'just for a day'. dreamy.

― keyth (keyth), Friday, 12 May 2006 00:23 (nineteen years ago)

yeah there was some major jump in quality from 'isares' to 'azure vista', very very interested in this brand new one

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Friday, 12 May 2006 00:27 (nineteen years ago)

it is an ambient record like isares but it is much more interesting. i don't even miss the huge crescendos from azure vista.

― keyth (keyth), Friday, 12 May 2006 00:39 (nineteen years ago)

argh, just noticed that the mahogany album has been pushed back again, to september now. having the cover photo on the darla site is such a tease. but then there are two july skies cds to be released this year. and yeah it was 'north shore' that was ambient, sorry. make mine music is highly underappreciated, little ambition there sure, but such lovely homemade prettiness as with the new schengen release.

― keyth (keyth), Friday, 12 May 2006 01:27 (nineteen years ago)

september's not so far away

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Friday, 12 May 2006 03:46 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

so darla has an album out now called rumskib which is produced by jonas munk and apparently he had a fair hand in the music as well. darla only has a pathetic two-minute mp3 available... has anyone heard the whole thing, and if so any thoughts?

looks like a 2CD compilation of manual stuff is coming out this summer as well, no track listing yet.

― f. hazel, Monday, 4 June 2007 09:07 (eighteen years ago)

I just got Manuals "Azure Vista" only the other day. It is gorgeous. I need to give it more listens, but it is definite float in the bath/float off stoned music.

― Trayce, Monday, 4 June 2007 09:41 (eighteen years ago)

i can't wait to move to my new house and have a bathtub again!

― f. hazel, Monday, 4 June 2007 09:55 (eighteen years ago)

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