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STREAM: Tim Hecker - Suffocation Raga For John Cale
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(Photo: Sarah Resnick)
Come April 21, Record Store Day will provide so many one-off treats that you'll practically be forced to venture outside and visit your favorite indie retailer. One of the most intriguing is a remix EP for iconic songwriter/producer/Velvet Undergrounder John Cale that takes his Extra Playful EP in a bunch of new directions. Here's a preview cut from master-of-ambience Tim Hecker. It takes elements of a raga and stretches them to triumphant infinity. Check for more from Double Six.
STREAM: Florence + The Machine - Never Let Me Go (Clams Casino Remix)
Florence + The Machine's "Never Let Me Go" is an emotionally intense thing –you hardly want to touch it, let it alone remix it. But our man Clams Casino is up for the challenge, taking its huge sound and making it more gaseous, cloudy, murky – basically all the things that I love about his production. It's going to be the B-side on a new 500-copy single, which comes April 9 via the Vinyl Factory.
DOWNLOAD: Elephant & Castle - En Memoria (feat. Tune-Yards)
Elephant & Castle, aka David Vincent Reep, is something of a wanderer, which bodes well for his sonic cameleon sensibilities. Take this one, "En Memoria," which features Merrill Garbus (Tune-Yards) on vocals and seems to pluck natural sound from all over the globe with an intensely spiritual focus. Atmospheric, lush and dreamy, flutes flicker while hands pound away on the rawhide of drums and keys hang in the wind – a great introduction to what will go down on Elephant & Castle's debut, Transitions, which comes March 13 via Plug Research.
STREAM: Flaming Lips - Now I Understand (feat. Erykah Badu, Siri)
An oddball surprise from Flaming Lips? Imagine that! On this new one, "Now I Understand," the group goes positively ambient and comforting with some lush vocals from legendary songstress Erykah Badu and an abstract conversation with Apple's favorite new daughter Siri. This is a quick take – simple, peaceful, pure in intention.
DOWNLOAD: Christina Vantzou - Homemade Mountains
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For years, synths and guitars have been the primary tools for making ambient music. Press a button, turn a knob, really really feel it through those headphones and you're good to go. Christina Vantzou takes a distinctly classical approach, though. "Homemade Mountains" meshes long orchestral swells, noble horns, airy vocals and the tentative plink of a piano to beautiful effect. If this was scoring a movie, we'd likely have a single tear rolling down our collective cheek. Hear more via Kranky.
DOWNLOAD: Windy & Carl - Remember
Listening to a Windy & Carl song is like being inside a seriously uplifting dream. "Remember," an ambient fanfare with a lovely, strong drone, goes at its own pace. It doesn't so much have a final destination – more an exploration of a mood that appears gaseous and uneasy to grab. Hear more on the duo's new album We Will Always Be, which is out February 13 on Kranky.
DOWNLOAD: The Good Natured - Video Voyeur (No Ceremony Remix)
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Unrecognizable from its original form, No Ceremony has turned "Video Voyeur" into something more mysterious and dim-lit with soft waves of percussive flotsam drifting over ill-defined synth lines and vocals that move like water. The Good Natured release that contains the original – a pop-rock trail-beater in the vein of Marina and the Diamonds doing Units covers – is out now.
DOWNLOAD: Steve Hauschildt - Batteries May Drain
Steve Hauschildt, a member of Ohio electro-experimentalist trio Emeralds, is no stranger to creating his own sonic universes. His solo debut, Tragedy & Geometry, is an attempt to merge sound and vision, and he describes the album with an equal emphasis on imagery and music. I would normally call this bluff, but Hauschildt seems totally legit. "Batteries May Drain" will have you seeing things. Whether they are fractals, memories of teenage love or your own future ironed out like a map before your eyes, something shall appear. Grab this and more on Kranky right now.
