Articles
The Fun Years
Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia
James Blackshaw
Lullatone

Albums
@c
Antenne
Antripodean Collective
Rudi Arapahoe
Black Gold 360
Brael / Tokyo Bloodworm
Richard Chartier
Jack Dangers
Rae Davis
Depth Affect
Taylor Deupree
Engine7
Emanuele Errante
Force of Nature
Gel-Sol
Glissando
Hardfloor
He Can Jog
Hulk
Adam Hurst
Kenny Larkin
Loco Dice
Mad EP
Maju
Marc + Hillage
Izumi Misawa
Nico Muhly
Toshimaru Nakamura
Organum
Maja S.K. Ratkje
Nicola Ratti
Recue
Renfro
Sawako
Seawalker
Raoul Sinier
Spyweirdos et al.
Svartbag
Tape
John Tejada
Tietchens + Chartier
Transitional

Compilations / Mixes
Ai022LP
Buzzin' Fly 5 Golden Years
Cielo-Cinco
Deconstructive Music
Om: Miami 2008
Sounds of Om Vol. 6
Traum 100
Underscan Now

EPs
Claro Intelecto
Funckarma
Tanaka Hideyuki
Jona
Alton Miller
Move D
saidsound
Sebastian San
Scott vs. Vaz
Philip Sherburne
Vakula

Brael / Tokyo Bloodworm: Living Language
Moteer

The seed for this debut collaboration between electro-acoustic outfit Brael (Steve Dannemiller, Joachim Hero) and Tokyo Bloodworm (Ryan Keane, Andrew Sanchez, Phillip Shiozaki) was planted when both groups' songs appeared on the Moodgadget compilation The Rorschach Suite. Mutual admiration prompted the decision to collaborate with Living Language the sterling outcome. The groups merge into a cohesive quintet on seven, multi-hued settings that extend from dreamily exotic settings to lilting lullabies.

“Saturn Shine” floods the mix with soft vinyl crackle, carousel-like chimes, and angelic whispers, and the music thereafter blossoms like time-lapse photography. With the introduction over, limpid vibraphone and glockenspiel patterns slow the pace, allowing Stephanie Flood's hushed voice to make its presence fully felt. The music eventually turns into a lulling dreamscape in its closing minutes—an audacious nine-minute beginning to say the least. In “Golden Mean Rectangle,” the strum of an acoustic guitar lends a folk slant to the languorous haze that drifts below while the pluck of a kalimba bestows earthy flavour while the aromatic interlude “Moss Grown Weary” ventures Eastward. Starting out as quietly as Moteer releases often do, “Seed” begins with a gentle keyboard melody and soft clicks, and then fills out with the vibraphone adding sparkle and a humming choir bringing warmth. Psychedelic traces seep into “Magic Wand” where a synthesizer's bright glow lights a path through a willowy forest of mallet instruments and tinkles. Listening to this splendid forty-minute collection, one would never think it was created by two groups collaborating for the first time when it sounds so much like the latest release by an established unit.

July 2008