EarBliss0004 (Ukraine edition)

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Update/20220305: A post at Ambientblog made me aware of PLACES FOR PEACE, a four-hour+, name-your-own-price compilation from Home Normal, a Brighton-based ambient label: while the compilation is not comprised of Ukrainian musicians, all profits from the release go to UNICEF’s 'Donate to Protect Children in Ukraine' fund. I’ve added the embed below.

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Huge thanks to Michael Donaldson’s must-read 8Sided Blog for pointing me in A Closer Listen’s direction: they’ve provided a marvelous resource of Ukrainian musicians on Bandcamp and, as it’s Bandcamp Friday, all proceeds go to the musicians. First group of purchases:

EarBliss0003

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Flaw in logic figured out. Words imminent, probably erased later but hey it’s something; brilliant soundings from the last week:

GREEN & GREY (EXPANDED), by Julia Kent - while all of Kent's work has been a source of much joy over the last decade, this expanded re-release of one of my favorites has been on perpetual repeat the last week or so. Beautiful.

WAVES, by Tomonari Nozaki –  sublime antidote of warmth and light to the cold, dreary dark.

STRAW BELLE, by Grottoes - swirling over and through an infectious beat: no clue where it'll go next – which, of course, makes the ride even more irresistible.

TONGUES, by Tanya Tagaq – So very, very good: when Tagaq speaks, you listen.

DAWN (Cassingle #27) by Hualun (花伦) - Hooked. More please.

ZONES, DRONES, AND ATMOSPHERES, by Steve Roach – essential new collection of shimmering, enveloping moodwork.

Listen, enjoy; the day awaits.

EarBliss0002

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Unable to find anything resembling a narrative flow in The Work this morning (perhaps it has something to do with my mysteriously-vanished cutting board) but I can, if nothing else, provide you with some sonic brilliance:

ARCHITECTURAL REVERB, by Alejandro Morse – transportive evocations of time and place:

SEEING WHAT REMAINS, by Temple Ov Saturn – Joan Pope's latest Temple Ov Saturn record continues her music's trend of becoming a rotation staple; her weekly newsletter is, likewise, an essential visual feast of her art from the week previous:

BREATH BY BREATH, by Fred Hersch & Crosby Street String Quartet – meditative piano-meets-strings beauty from a master:

LIGHT CAUGHT THE EDGES, by From the Mouth of the Sun – I've become hooked on this duo's work over the last week. While this is the one that grabbed me, all of their work is more than worth checking out:

LIVE AT MONTREAUX JAZZ FESTIVAL, by Anna von Hausswolff – been looking forward to this live set from one of the most intriguing artists out there for awhile and it doesn't disappoint. Spectacular:

I'll update WRT the vanished cutting board should it reappear as mysteriously as it vanished; the day awaits.

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I am alive and, as I’m still rearranging the deck chairs (as it were), I’ve decided to resurrect EarBliss here on Wednesdays, make it a regular feature and, like any half-respecting comic book series, start over with a new 0001: these are – in no particular order – the albums that have made my ears happy over the last few weeks:

INNOVATION, by the [law-rah] collective:

May your ears enjoy themselves; the day awaits.