Justin Wright - A Really Good Spot (2022)

The Quebec-based cellist and composer, Justin Wright, is here to "to push the boundaries of new classical and experimental indie music, and erase the lines between synthetic and acoustic sounds". While very ambitious goal, his music certainly is located on the border between the old and the new, and it's "A Really Good Spot".

The cello sounds here are the driving force of the lively soundscapes where there's tons of things going on: the piano keys, the strings, the electronica backgrounds. It works together in harmony, although more often than not, it is close to this kind of artistic chaos that  always brings something touching to life. Especially when Wright is joined by Thanya Iyer: together with her vocals, We're Still Here sounds especially free form-like and experimental. This all shows the artist's unique view on making music, the process of which ends up with this album being "a surrealist spectrum of methodology, where the techniques showcased may or may not be real, where the orchestration confidently reinforces the most haphazard nonsense elements, and where the playfulness occasionally steps aside for moments of somber clarity:.

A Really Good Spot costs 8.5 EUR (7 GBP).

Check: Hellbrunn Automatons

Country: Canada

Genre: cello-based 

Label: First Terrace Records/Beacon Sound

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Heather Woods Broderick - Domes (2022)

Heather Woods Broderick is a multi-instrumentalist and a singer from Portland. The artist worked together with such artists as Horse Feathers, Efterklang, and Nils Frahm, and while listening to her music, it's hardly a surprise. The beautiful and very melancholic soundscapes she creates fill the new album called Domes.

Although cello is not Broderick's main instrument, this album is filled with compositions based on its sounds. It helped the artist through the pandemics times when she was in "need to find moments of respite in response to the chaotic and turbulent times we all faced in that period". And so the whole album is all about transferring this into the audience with the use of looped pieces that are to mesmerize the listener and drive them into this contemplating state that can sonically heel almost anything.

Domes costs 7 EUR.

Check: Tor

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: cello soundscape

Label: Dauw

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Konstruct - Soundworks (2022)

Konstruct is a trio made of talented ambient/neoclassical artists with Simon McCorry being the best known on this blog. Apart from the British cellist, it involves also Alexander Caminada a.k.a. Phonsonic and Andrew Heath. All of them joined forces to create a unique soundscape of ambient's mystery and neoclassicism's beauty. 

This is a recorded performance they gave at the Ground Works event and the music they served there is filled with audio references to nature, the Earth and the landscape we live within. There's a handful of very tangible, very organic sound samples that are woven into a blend of ambient and neoclassical music. The latter is dominated (though it feels wrong saying that abut such a delicate entity) by piano keys and McCorry's melancholic cello music used to create sad, slow drone. This all results in a rather gloomy take on instrumental ambient that manages to be attractive and pretty at the same time.

Soundworks costs 6 EUR (5 GBP)

Simon McCorry - Border Land (2019)

Check: Lines Across the Land 

Country: UK

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

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Resina - Speechless (2021)

Karolina Rec is a part of the offstream music scene in Poland for some time now, to the point that she appears also in more mainstream surroundings. The school-educated cellist is well-known for her experiments with neoclassical music and those are very well visible on her new album called Speechless.

In her career, Rec collaborated with and supported so many top-shelf artists, both Polish and international, that it is pointless to list them here. She has left her mark on the experimental music scene here already and she seems ready to make it even more visible. Speechless has very little left from the artist's neoclassical background with a lot of attention put on the industrial and noisy atmosphere with some exceptionally ethereal elements, most notably the heavy use of choir singing. This makes the album both dark and unnerving as well as airy and beautiful. Those worlds collide in Resina's music very often, for example when the war-like drums take over the soothing choir singing in Failed Myth Simulation or when in Manic the cello sounds coexist with very brutal noise.

Although, as the album's title suggests, the release is solely instrumental, its main theme is to "explore ideas about language, the voice and the unpredictability of nature" (like in Darwin's finches, the birds that are a perfect example of said unpredictability). This album that shows music from very different parts of the calm/noisy spectrum, seems to be a good commentary on the nature and language's complicated, not to say experimental, ways.

Speechless costs 11 EUR (9 GBP).

Check: Failed Myth Simulation  

Country: Poland

Genre: choral industrial electronica

Label: 130701

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tom's diner - сестре (2021)

Tom's diner is a Russian band that "caters to wanderers of all sorts with an exquisite psychedelic post-rock". Their usual lineup involves more traditional for the genre guitar and drums, however, they decided to do something differently recently and so the EP сестре was born.

On this release, the Russians perform their compositions only with the help of piano keys and cello strings. It comes obvious that it makes the whole EP unbelievably climatic and beautiful. The compositions here are slow and focused on creating the intimate, discreet atmosphere. The artists decided to do so to "reveal the melody and feelings of the compositions, without being distracted by anything" and even though the leader of the band had to learn how to play on piano to record this album, it sounds like it achieved its goal. Almost all of the compositions here are the new versions of already existing tacks except for the only new one called рядом. They all, however, sound so well in their own slow and focused way.

сестре costs 2 USD.

Check: озёра (piano-cello version)

Country: Russia

Genre: neoclassical

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Michael Peter Olsen - Yearning Flow (2021)

Hand Drawn Dracula presents a new album from the Canadian cellist Michael Peter Olsen. His instrumental ambient based mostly on the string sounds has ability to poses a soul and this can be tested on Yearning Flow.

Olsen is absolutely not a debuting artist, he accompanied some huge names in the music industry including Drake, Arcade Fire or Haim. Accompanied by other artists who add synths and basses to the mixture, Olsen produces works that are described as "electric cello in ambient, avant-garde influenced compositions". Those comprise not only of thick and rather heavy synth layers but also other electronic-infused patterns and audio samples both very much of cosmic (especially in MoonMist) or quite apocalyptic flavour (Ours). With the very ethereal finish in Cloud Parade, the summary can be only one, the album is a very much eclectic and multi-layered study of cello sounds in very different environments.

Yearning Flow costs 7 CAD.

Check: Ours

Country: Canada

Genre: cello ambient

Label: Hand Drawn Dracula

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Lief Sjostrom - Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds (2019) EN

Lief Sjostrom, Denver-based cellist has appeared on the blog already and he's back and it's no wonder as I really dig his approach to neoclassical music. Now you can listen to it on his EP called Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds.

As could have been guessed, the album is based on cello's sounds but at least equally important are the looping effects transforming short phrases into whole backgrounds. Of course, it's nothing new, Julia Kent is a mistress here, but Sjostrom uses this effect in a particularly interesting way. Another characteristic of his music is the way he uses electric guitar that adds to the whole thing's character and dark atmosphere at the same time. That's why the album sounds in some places like a neoclassical soundtrack to some intriguing movie, in other, like excerpts from a discography of a post-rock band, especially in the noise-dirty Light Pollution.

Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds costs 6 USD.

Lief Sjostrom - The Longest Night (2018) EN

Check: Light Pollution

Country: Colorado, US

Genre: post-rocking neoclassicism

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Lief Sjostrom - Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds (2019) PL

Lief Sjostrom, wiolonczelista z Denver już się pojawiał na blogu, ale nic dziwnego bo jego podejście do neoklasyki bardzo do mnie przemawia. Tym razem można je podziwiać na EP-ce Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds.

Jak należało się spodziewać, płyta oparta jest na brzmieniach wiolonczeli, ale równie ważne są na niej loopujące efekty zamieniające krótkie frazy w tła całych utworów. Oczywiście nie jest to nic nowego, a mistrzynią jest tutaj Julia Kent, ale Sjostrom używa tego efektu w bardzo interesujący sposób. Innym znakiem szczególnym jest wykorzystanie gitary elektrycznej dodającej całości z jednej strony charakteru, z drugiej mrocznej atmosfery. Dzięki temu płyta czasem brzmi jak neoklasyczny soundtrack do jakiegoś intrygującego filmu, czasem jak wyjątki z dyskografii post-rockowego zespołu, zwłaszcza w zabrudzonym noisem Light Pollution.

Boyish Dreams of Heroic Deeds kosztuje 24 złote (6 USD).

Lief Sjostrom - The Longest Night (2018) PL

Sprawdź: Light Pollution

Kraj: Kolorado, US

Szufladka: post-rocking neoclassicism

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Simon McCorry - Border Land (2019) EN

Simon McCorry is a British cellist inspired by the works of Aphex Twin. Which explains a lot. On his June album Border Land, he included long minutes of string music and sadness.

The album's strength is its dark minimalism. Most of the time is occupied by the mawkish howling of the cello accompanied only by reverbs or subtle drones. But don't be mistaken, the artist manages to create some wonderful and engaging music chaos as well, especially in Awakening. Another helpful thing in his work is the use of field recordings from the very far North of the United Kingdom audible in Sacred Geometries and Not One Thing.

The atmosphere is only proven by this interesting story about the latter: "There is a recording taken from wind blowing through a metal gate to a lighthouse on Noup Head. The gate was singing. It had three holes either from missing screws or where it rusted in the elements. These emitted three different pitches which interacted in an unpredictably pleasant way".

Border Land costs 7.99 GBP.

Check: Not One Thing

Country: UK

Genre: dark cello ambient

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Simon McCorry - Border Land (2019) PL

Simon McCorry to brytyjski wiolonczelista zasłuchany w twórczość Aphex Twin. To wiele tłumaczy. Na wydanej w czerwcu płycie Border Land, zawarł on kilkadziesiąt minut wariacji na muzykę smyczkową i smutek.

Siłą albumu jest jego mroczny minimalizm. Gros jego długości wypełnia rzewne zawodzenie wiolonczeli wspomagane jedynie reverbami i delikatnym dronem. Niech to jednak nikogo nie zwiedzie, artyście udaje się nieraz doprowadzić do cudnego i pochłaniającego muzycznego chaosu, chociażby w Awakening. Z pomocą przychodzą też field recordings z dalekiej północy Zjednoczonego Królestwa słyszalne w Sacred Geometries i Not One Thing.

Klimat potwierdza tylko taka interesująca historia odnośnie tego ostatniego utworu: "Jest tam nagranie wiatru wiejącego przez metalową bramę latarni morskiej na Noup Head. Ta brama śpiewała. Znajowały się w niej trzy dziury po brakujących śrubkach albo przerdzewiałych elementach. Emitowały one dźwięki w trzech różnych tonacjach, które razem brzmiały niesłycanie przyjemnie".

Border Land kosztuje 38 złotych (7,99 GBP).

Sprawdź: Not One Thing

Kraj: UK

Szufladka: dark cello ambient

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Julia Kent - Temporal (2019) EN

Canadian artist based in New York, Julia Kent, creates fantastically atmospheric compositions combining the sounds of cello and electronics. She does that for 12 years now and confirms her class on the new album called Temporal.

The instrumentalist has worked in movies, theaters and dance, and this cinematic climate is clearly noticeable on the album sounding in many places as if it could easily work as a psychedelic movie soundtrack. Kent combines the traditional and the modern in her music, that makes it special. The looped sounds of cello mesmerize and the delicate electronics (as the pulsating rhythm opening Imbalance) adds to the overall atmosphere. It's both dark and atmospheric so Temporal fits perfectly to some dark night listening sessions.

Temporal costs 7.99 USD.

Check: Imbalance

Country: New York, US

Genre: dark neoclassical

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Julia Kent - Temporal (2019) PL

Kanadyjska artystka ale tworząca w Nowym Jorku Julia Kent tworzy fantastycznie klimatyczne aranżacje łącząc dźwięki wiolonczeli i elektronikę. Robi to już od 12 lat, a swoją formę potwierdza na nowej płycie Temporal.

Instrumentalistka zajmowała się w karierze filmem, teatrem i tańcem, ten kinowy klimat czuć na płycie brzmiącej w wielu momentach jakby mogła być ścieżką dźwiękową do jakiegoś psychodelicznego filmu. Kent łączy w swojej muzyce tradycję i nowoczesność, dlatego też jest tak niepowtarzalna. Zaloopowane dźwięki wiolonczeli hipnotyzują, a delikatna elektronika (jak pulsujący rytm otwierający Imbalance) przydaje całości klimatu. Ten jest mroczny i jednocześnie nastrojowy, tak że Temporal pasuje jak ulał do słuchania ciemną nocą.

Temporal kosztuje 31 złotych (7,99 USD).

Sprawdź: Imbalance

Kraj: Nowy Jork, US

Szufladka: dark neoclassical

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Lief Sjostrom - The Longest Night (2018) EN

Lief Sjostrom is "a cellist, guitarist, composer, and teacher" from Colorado. This Christmas he released and album that perfectly, in my opinion, reflects the atmosphere of the long, cold night when the miracle was supposed to happen.

While I am not a fan of Christmas-themed concept album, I can't just miss this super dense ambiance of Sjostrom's short release. The Longest Night is made of six compositions played mostly on the cello with all of its richness with dark tones, melancholic bow and rhythm tapping on its body. The artist deals with more or less famous American carols with the most famous (at least in Europe) being Silent Night. This one is even more delicate and even darker than other mainstream versions.

And this is the way to perform Christmas carols I understand.

The Longest Night costs whatever you pay.

Check: Silent Night

Country: Colorado, US

Genre: christmas dark folk

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Lief Sjostrom - The Longest Night (2018) PL

Lief Sjostrom to "wiolonczelista, gitarzysta, kompozytor i nauczyciel" z Kolorado. Na Święta wydał płytę, która, moim zdaniem, najlepiej oddaje klimat długiej, zimowej nocy, kiedy miał zdarzyć się cud.

O ile nie jestem zwolennikiem tematycznych albumów świątecznych to obok tak gęstej atmosfery, jaka panuje na niedługim krążku Sjostroma nie mogłem przejść obojętnie. The Longest Night to sześć kompozycji zagranych wyłącznie na wiolonczeli z całym jej bogactwem: mrocznymi tonami, melancholijnymi pociągnięciami smyczka, wybijaniem rytmu o pudło. Artysta wziął na warsztat mniej lub bardziej znane amerykańskie kolędy, z których najbliższą wszystkim będzie z pewnością Cicha noc. Ta jest jeszcze spokojniejsza i jeszcze mroczniejsza niż bardziej mainstreamowe wersje.

I takie wykonanie kolęd to ja rozumiem.

The Longest Night kosztuje tyle, ile zechcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: Silent Night

Kraj: Kolorado, US

Szufladka: christmas dark folk

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:WatchCamp: Buran, Mod Paula, noo, Strange Little Girl, yndi halda (2018) EN

Buran - Clouds

Very guitar-oriented post-rock by Rayco Hernándeza from the Canary Islands, really promising track that develops well and is finished as it should be. And costs whatever you want to pay.

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Mod Paula - beyond the sky

Psychedelic/post-rock band from Texas with delicate vocal and a lot of this dreamy atmosphere involved, can't wait for more. Two tracks cost 1.99 USD.

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noo - ほろはな ぴあの

Delicate neoclassical music from Japan, the whole thing is played on piano and touches souls. This short track costs whatever you want to pay.

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Strange Little Girl - Je Rame

Super strange experimental music from Italy created by Matilde Guali. Unsettling whispers, atmospheric noise and cello sounds. Magical. This long track costs whatever you want to pay.

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yndi halda - A Sun​-​Coloured Shaker

More like one-track album than a single, British yndi halda comes back with new material and this is always good news. Rock that is more or less post with violins and beautiful vocal. The track costs 3 GBP.

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:WatchCamp: Buran, Mod Paula, noo, Strange Little Girl, yndi halda (2018) PL

Buran - Clouds

Mocno gitarowy post-rock Rayco Hernándeza z Wysp Kanaryjskich, bardzo obiecujący kawałek odpowiednio się rozwijający i zakończony znakomitym finiszem. I kosztuje tyle ile zapłacisz.

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Mod Paula - beyond the sky

Psychodeliczno-post-rockowy band z Teksasu, delikatny w sumie wokal i bardzo dużo sennej atmosfery, nic tylko czekać na więcej. Dwa utwory za 7 złotych (1.99 USD).

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noo - ほろはな ぴあの

Delikatna neoklasyka z Japonii zagrana od początku do końca na pianinie, ma w sobie dużo duszy. Niedługi utwór kosztuje ile zechcesz zapłacić.

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Strange Little Girl - Je Rame

Przedziwna muzyka eksperymentalna z Włoch autorstwa Matilde Guali. Pełna niepokojących szeptów, nastrojowego noise'u, smyków przeciąganych po strunach wiolonczeli. Czarodziejska atmosfera. Długaśny kawałek kosztuje ile zapłacisz.

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yndi halda - A Sun​-​Coloured Shaker

Bardziej jedno-utworowa płyta niż singiel, brytyjska yndi halda wraca z nowym materiałem a to zawsze dobra wiadomość. Rock, który jest mniej lub bardziej post, plus skrzypce i piękny wokal. Utwór kosztuje 15 złotych (3 GBP).

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The Great Stone - Killers and Lovers (2017) EN

The Great Stone come from Columbia, not very well established post-rock land. But this is not what’s the most interesting about the band. You should rather focus on Julian Gaspar in the middle of the band pic, who plays cello. And this  instrument has amazing impact on the band’s sound.

There’s strong lo-fi presence to be felt on the album, not every sound is perfectly clear and there’s some unwanted noise, but it doesn’t mean that the Columbian post-rock is less energetic, especially with those vividly heard guitar. But even the guitar has to give up the lead to the cello. This is the instrument that decides the pace of tracks, gives depth and unique atmosphere - a perfect blending of a classic instrument with modern energy. And it looks amazing in the cover pic.

“Killers And Robbers” is available for 7 USD.

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