blog.Crónica

Perhaps it’s the time of year or my inescapable decrepitude, but the armchair seems to be my destination more often than the dancefloor right now. Maybe it’s just that a lot of superb ambient/drone/slippercore music’s being released at the moment: Black To Comm (see AD015), cacao (see below), Rameses III (see below); I could go on (see below). Pushing its way towards the front of that estimable bunch is The Beautiful Schizophonic, aka Jorge Mantas, whose Erotikon doesn’t waste time in enfolding you in piling waves of rich, subtly melodic texture. ‘Aysha’ and ‘Bambilány’ show just what you can do within the drone framework, brief dabs of birdsong or hushed vocals imparting a panoramic sense of wonder.

Even when Mantas pursues more chilling moods, as with the hollowed-out tonalities of ‘Nocturnosque’, an innate musicality is still clearly apparent in its swaying distortions. The magnificent ‘Alba’ stitches a sample of Au Clair de la Lune from 1860, the earliest known recording of a human voice, into the haunting piano playing of Yui Onodera. ‘Fornarina, with its puffs of glowing notes rising up around an LA phone conversation, is a warmer adjunct to Robin Rimbaud’s work as Scanner, while the 14-minute wash of closing track ‘Pollen’ hits pretty much every pleasure centre that ambient music can reach. Chris Power

via Drowned in Sound

Dreamy soundscapes telling a drone love story. Music for the time of the year where loved ones crawl close to each other in the dark evenings and nights.

Sometimes it occurs that with a package the weirdest liner notes come. Nothing about the music it self or anything about the process. Like with this album Erotikon by the Portuguese musician Jorge Mantas better known as The Beautiful Schizophonic; no words on the music but words on a beautiful lady. A poem about the thoughts the musician (I guess) has about a young woman.

From this I make up (correct me if I am wrong) that Erotikon is a love story, or at least an album written about and for love. This is a daring statement of course. What to think happens if the loved one doesn’t enjoy the album or even worse thinks it is worthless. What to think…

For this love story 11 pieces are needed taking us on the journey to the young woman’s heart in approx 77 minutes. The music on Erotikon is dreamy, sometimes ethereal. Layered soundscapes of drones created from strings. But not only this ingredient can be found, also field recordings are used, either processed in the music or as in the 5th piece Musgo where we hear birds twitter, while in the background an old radio is changed from channel mixing in old static and short shreds of the several broadcasts.

Mantas doesn’t have to work alone on all the pieces but also gets help from befriended musicians like Yui Onodora on piano in Alba, or Sleeping Me on guitar for Orlik.
With this rich sound palette a rich environment is created. Sometimes with a focus on more droney like landscapes, while in others behind the dense layers delicate micro melodies appear.

With careful listening all these small details slowly give away, unwrapping a great scenery. The dream setting that is created in the music is great listening music when just sitting back with the eyes closed. Take a warm blanket and wrap it around you with a good cup of warm chocolate. With some dimmed lights the setting is complete for a good old romantic night for you and your loved one.

Only once you get waken from the slumber you are in and this is when two women start to talk about their experiences with night-life in several cities in the track Fornarina.

Erotikon is a beautiful dedication to a loved one, so I guess if Mantas plays this to the special lady from the poem he doesn’t have to worry too much about the future. And if she doesn’t like it, well I guess enough other hearts could be melted with this music.

A lovely recommendation for the later nights. Sietse van Erve

via Earlabs